


My Way Home is Through You

by Acadjonne



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: (and a brief uncredited cameo from Knux too), (i absolutely love lee majdoub and watch his twitch streams twice a week), Birthdays, Dr. Robotnik is here now oops, Flashbacks, Found Family, Gen, Mentions of Dr. Robotnik, Mentions of Knuckles the Echidna - Freeform, Parent Maddie Wachowski, Parent Tom Wachowski, References to Crash Bandicoot, Stone is here now too, Tikal makes an appearance, alongside Knuckles who now gets a proper inclusion, also as some of you guessed we have, can't forget him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23018884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acadjonne/pseuds/Acadjonne
Summary: Sonic asks, “are you saying you knew me, before I came to Earth?” And Tails nods, once.“We grew up together,” he says. Sonic shakes his head, expression serious.“No, we didn’t,” he insists. “I grew up here on Earth. Alone. What are you even doing here?”
Relationships: Maddie Wachowski/Tom Wachowski, Sonic the Hedgehog & Maddie Wachowski, Sonic the Hedgehog & Tom Wachowski
Comments: 77
Kudos: 493





	1. Something I Can't Know 'Til Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Tom is not prepared to hear Wade say, “there’s an orange fox with gloves and sneakers sniffing around at the scorch marks on main street.”_

“Sonic!”

In the small clearing beneath Longclaw’s home, Sonic was zipping back and forth, evading his much slower companion. The kit whined as he missed tagging Sonic  _ again _ , “not fair!” As petulantly as such a young kit could, he crossed his arms, pouting with as much exaggeration as he knew how.

“You need to go faster, Tails!” Sonic said, though he did stop his running. The so-called Tails used this to his advantage, tapping Sonic’s shoulders before jumping away. Sonic let out an outraged, “ _ hey! _ ” Tails ignored him, doing his best to climb the trunk of a nearby tree, ignorant of the fact that it was too big for his little arms to properly grab onto.

Above them, Longclaw called out for them. “Sonic! Miles! Inside, quickly, someone’s coming!”

Tails protested as Sonic grabbed him, rushing up the path with the kit in his arms in order to get back to their caretaker. Longclaw shooed them inside, where they took up their usual hiding spots. Sonic was quick to lift a floorboard beneath Longclaw’s perch and nestle inside, while Tails, still small enough to do so, was closed into the chest by the far window. Footsteps approached. Someone knocked on the door.

“Vixen!” Longclaw’s voice called out. “So good to see you. Miles, come on out.”

* * *

“Why can’t he run faster?” Sonic asks, exasperated, as the orange figure before him is flattened by the oncoming boulder. He tosses the controller down in front of him, and it lands squarely on Ozzy’s back. The dog looks up for a moment, before setting his head back down.

“Which level are you stuck on now?” Tom asks, peering into the living room from the kitchen. There’s batter all over his shirt, from Maddie tilting the bowl while he was beating the contents. To be fair, it made great retaliation for the flour he threw onto her shirt and in her hair while she was trying to find the vanilla extract. It’s still less of a mess than the one occasion they let Sonic help them with the baking, at least.

Sonic pouts, crossing his arms. With the giant eyes, it’s both hilarious and kind of adorable, not that Tom would ever tell Sonic that. “ _Crash Crush_ again,” Sonic admits. Tom nods in understanding.

“Maybe if you change how you hold the controller,” Tom suggests, picking it up off of Ozzy. He cradles the left side against the palm of his hand, using his thumb and forefinger to push down the joystick. Crash runs forward in a straight line, getting easily past the first boulder and to the checkpoint. He hands the controller back to Sonic, who copies the same hold that Tom just showed him. “You remember how to slide, right?” He asks, and Sonic nods. “Doing a gem run this time?”

“Yeah, but I keep getting crushed or missing boxes, and I don’t know where to find them. I got all the boxes in the bonus level before!” 

Tom asks, “did you backtrack down the branching path?” And Sonic shakes his head.

“Don’t know where the beginning of the path is.” By now, he’s started running forward again, sliding under the energy fence and belly-flopping onto the next two boxes. When he gets to the first speed pad, Tom points to the second path.

“You just go up there. There’s a platform at the end that will bring you back, so you don’t have to go down twice.”

Sonic does as instructed, clearing the path and taking the platform back to the main section of the level. Tom leaves him to it, hearing an excited, “yes! Thank you, Donut Lord,” after a minute.

Maddie shakes her head fondly. “We never should have taught him how to play Crash Bandicoot,” Maddie says. Tom chuckles.

“It’s teaching him to be thorough, isn’t it?”

“It’s going to give him completion anxiety, more likely,” Maddie says, then turns back to her baking. While Tom is making the cake, she’s testing out different frosting-food colour ratios. Her goal is to try to get the shade of blue as close to Sonic’s quills as possible, without it tasting of gasoline. So far, the most promising result is mixing two drops of navy and a drop of black into her small batch. Another batch, with a slight yellow tinge on top of the rich blue, apparently doesn’t have a bad taste either. “The lemon flavour mostly overpowers the food colouring,” Maddie says, “but not quite. I don’t think he’ll really notice that much.”

The occasion for the cake is Sonic’s unofficial birthday. They really have no way of knowing when it would actually fall, let alone if calendar dates are similar on his old planet to begin with. Instead, they laid out an old calendar in front of Sonic, with all the pages cut out so he could choose a month first, and then a day. He chose June 23rd, and so it was. Once the cake is done, they’ll have their little celebration, just their little family. Maddie, Tom, Sonic, and Ozzy. Maddie promised to make chili dogs, and then after they’ve had their cake, they’ll watch  _ Speed _ , and then Sonic will get his gift; a set of  _ Quicksilver _ comics, so he has another option than just  _ Flash _ to read.

Once the cake is in the oven, and Sonic has made it past the Komodo Brothers, struggling with the timing and jumps of _Plant Food_ , Tom’s cell starts ringing. The called ID shows it’s Wade. Tom shares a shrug with Maddie and answers.

“Hey, Wade. What’s going on?” Tom asks.

“Hi, Tom. Remember that fight with the evil government doctor in the space ship a few weeks ago? When our Blue Devil got all electrified?” Wade asks.

Tom nods to himself, “uh, yeah. What about it?”

He is not prepared to hear Wade say, “there’s an orange fox with gloves and sneakers sniffing around at the scorch marks on main street.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I instantly got attached to Tails. I'm not sure how but it happened, and this is the result.


	2. Tell Me If It's So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _As a rule, anything involving Sonic goes straight to the Wachowskis. The fox on Main apparently counts as “anything involving Sonic.”_

It’s pure luck that Longclaw had just closed the lid of her chest on a sleeping Sonic when a knock sounded at the door.

Taking one quick look around to assure nothing suspicious was visible, she opened the door. Before her was a young fox, holding her kit closely. Both of them had pale orange fur, though the kit had some white fur at the tip of his bandaged tail. Longclaw supposed they were looking for healing.

“I need your help,” said the fox mother. “Those echidnas, if they find him-” She stopped herself, hugging her kit closer. He whined a bit at the tight hold.

“Take a breath. Can you explain the situation to me?” Longclaw asked gently. The fox mother did as asked, taking a deep breath, and then letting it out. Gently, she placed her kit on the floor. With his newfound freedom, he walked over to Longclaw, gazing up at her curiously, before returning to his mother’s side. Once he’d returned to her, the fox mother removed the bandages from his tail. Quite quickly, one tail became two.

“My name is Vixen,” the fox mother said, “and this is Miles. He was born like this, with two tails. My family, they tried to kill him when they saw, I had to take him and run. I’ve been trying my best to hide it, but if those echidnas found out...” Again, the fox mother stopped, this time, letting out a scared sob. Longclaw knew what she was trying to say.

“If they find him, they’ll take him. See if he has any powers.” Longclaw said. Vixen nodded.

“I know that you don’t know me, and you have no reason to help me, but  _ please _ , help him. There are rumours, that you’ve helped others hide. Please, you’re his only chance.”

Longclaw studied Miles for a moment, by now sitting neatly on the floor beside his mother’s feet. Miles looked back at Longclaw with bright, clear eyes. It would be a great risk, she knew, to agree to help Miles when she was still trying to teach Sonic how to hide his powers. She couldn’t well keep them separated, and Miles was so young, must have been less than a year old. When Miles learns to talk, it may be hard to teach him what words to avoid. However, she knew how ruthless the echidnas can be, and she didn’t want to leave Miles and Vixen in a position that put them in danger.

She was still trying to save Sonic, but could she save someone else too? One last look between Miles and Vixen settled it.

“I will do everything in my power to keep Miles safe,” Longclaw promised. Vixen sighed in relief.

* * *

As a rule, anything involving Sonic goes straight to the Wachowskis. So far, this hasn’t been much, other than Really Observant Carl bringing over some meatloaf as an apology to Sonic for all those traps he set over the years, and a few townsfolk asking how he was doing following the incident with Robotnik.

The fox on Main apparently counts as “anything involving Sonic.”

To be fair, like Wade told Tom, the fox  _ is  _ taking a look at those scorch marks Sonic left on the asphalt. There’s not really anyone else around on the street when Tom arrives, and traffic has been diverted away as a safety precaution. The fox doesn’t seem at all bothered by this, instead poking around at a small handheld device. As Tom approaches, the fox looks up. “Hello,” the fox chirps.

His voice sounds young, even younger than Sonic, who confided in Tom and Maddie that he was really only about fourteen. It makes Tom wonder what kind of world he must’ve come from, that he’s here on his own. “Hi,” Tom says after a few moments, though the fox is once again looking at the device in his hands. “Do you need any help?”

The fox shakes his head, and says, “no thank you. I can find him myself.” He kneels down and presses his hand into the broken yellow line, though his glove comes away clean. He messes with his device again, and brings it closer to the ground. It beeps sharply, once, and the fox frowns.

“Who is that you’re looking for, exactly?” Tom asks. This time, the fox looks up at him. His eyes, big, wide blue eyes, make Tom instantly sure that he must be from the same place as Sonic. He even has a similarly determined look on his face.

“My brother,” the fox says. “His name is Sonic.”

Tom resolutely  _ does not react _ . “Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll see if I can help you.”

* * *

As it turns out, the fox is called Miles Prower, and his guardian has been taken away.

“The echidnas took her,” he tells Tom, sitting across the table in the interview room of the Green Hills police station. “They noticed the most recent power surge and thought we’d know about it.”

Tom, with a cambridge pad in front of him, writes down the word “echidna,” and then looks back up at Miles. “This guardian of yours, does she have a name?”

Miles nods. “Longclaw. She took care of me when I was little, and took me in when my mother died.”

Tom writes that down, too. He’ll ask Maddie to see if any of this is familiar to Sonic once he gets the chance. “And she told you about Sonic?” He asks. Miles grimaces.

“I remember him, a little,” Miles says. “I remember him leaving. Longclaw made sure I remembered by telling me stories.”

“So you think Sonic will be able to help you save Longclaw,” Tom asks, and Miles nods. “Why him? Aren’t there others on your planet that could help?”

Two bushy tails wave lazily at Tom, very clearly separate entities. A moment ago, he could have sworn there was only one, but he does his best not to look surprised. “Not many people back home know about me,” Miles says. “It’s hard to make friends when you have to worry who might give you away. Even if I did have someone to help, it’s hard to get past the echidna tribe. Sonic is the only one I know who could save Longclaw without getting caught.”

Tom looks closely at Miles for a moment. He seems genuine, but that might also be due to his age. Miles, for the most part, looks back at Tom. His gaze is still rather determined, though he also seems a little hesitant. His hands are fidgeting a bit.

“I’m going to go see if I can find any information that might help you,” Tom lies, “I’ll be right back.” Outside the door to the interview room, there’s a bowl of candy on a desk. Tom grabs it, and holds it up so Miles can see it. “Candy?” He asks. Miles nods, and he places it on the table.

From the two-way mirror, Tom watches the fox pluck a mint from the bowl, unwrap it, and put it in his mouth. For a moment, he stops moving, when the mint makes his mouth go cold, but he must decide he likes it, because a moment later he reaches for another.

Content that Miles is sufficiently distracted, Tom pulls out his phone, sending a quick text to Maddie.  _ ask sonic if echidnas, miles, or longclaw mean anything, _ he writes, then turns away from the mirror. Wade is still at the main desk, just like he was when Tom led the fox inside. “I just texted Maddie. If she and Sonic come by, tell them I’m in the interview room,” Tom tells him.

* * *

“Hey, Sonic,” Maddie calls out, just after her phone makes a noise. “What do you know about echidnas?”

Sonic gets up from the couch and walks into the kitchen where Maddie is in the middle of preparing the chili dogs for later. “Back on my home planet, they were trying to get my powers. That’s why I came to Earth,” he says. She nods.

“Is the name Miles familiar?” Sonic shakes his head. “What about Longclaw? What does that mean?” Sonic freezes.

“How do you know about Longclaw?” He asks. Maddie shows him the text message.

“Tom asked me-” Before she can finish, Sonic is gone, a blur of blue trailing behind him in Maddie’s vision. “Sonic, wait!”

* * *

Tom has just sat back down in front of Miles when the door to the interview room flies open. Immediately, Miles perks up, and Tom turns to see who’s entered.

“Sonic!” The fox calls, jumping out of his chair and rushing towards him. His two tails swing wildly behind him. Sonic takes a step back, hands in front of him, and shakes his head.

“Whoa, slow down there. Do I know you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what happens when an unstoppable force meets a determined brother?


	3. Someone Out There Loves You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sonic asks, “are you saying you knew me, before I came to Earth?” And Tails nods, once._
> 
> _“We grew up together,” he says. Sonic shakes his head, expression serious._
> 
> _“No, we didn’t,” he insists. “I grew up here on Earth. Alone. What are you even doing here?”_

Vixen stayed until Miles fell asleep, and left once she was sure he wouldn’t wake up. Longclaw watched him through the night and into the morning. He woke silently, but clung to her once he saw that his mother was gone.

Sonic woke not long after Miles did, and knocked on the lid of the chest once, just as Longclaw had taught him. It was a way for him to know if it was okay to come out, if she answered the knock or opened the chest for him. If she didn't respond to the knock, it was unsafe, and she could pass the sound off as something shifting inside the chest, should she have company.

Miles followed Longclaw as she walked over and opened the chest, holding one tail in hand, while the other had a loose hold on her leg. He was effectively hidden behind her wing as Sonic climbed out of the chest, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dawn’s light.

“Morning,” he chirped, looking up at Longclaw. His green eyes were bright and alert, just as always. Behind Longclaw, Miles flinched a bit at the unexpected voice, and the movement caused the tail wrapped around her leg to twitch. Sonic took notice immediately. “Secret?” He asked, fear creeping into his eyes. Longclaw shook her head.

“Sonic, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. Come on out, little one,” Longclaw said, turning her head to try to coax Miles forward. After a moment, he goes. One of his tails stayed wrapped around Longclaw’s leg, and she lifted her wing over his head so as not to disturb its hold. Of course, Sonic was just as quick to notice the second tail as he was the first.

“Tails,” he chirped, waving excitedly at Miles. “Tails, tails, tails!”

“Sonic, this is Miles,” Longclaw said, resting a wing on Miles’ shoulder. “He’s going to be staying with us from now on.”

* * *

“Whoa, slow down there. Do I know you?”

As soon as the words leave Sonic’s mouth, the fox takes a sharp step back, curling on himself a bit. Both of his tails curl together, and he grabs ahold of them in one hand. He looks down at the floor, unable to face the confusion in Sonic’s eyes. “I’m Miles,” the fox says softly. “But you used to call me Tails.” After a moment, he adds quietly, “you were actually the only one who called me that...”

Sonic asks, “are you saying you knew me, before I came to Earth?” And Tails nods, once.

“We grew up together,” he says. Sonic shakes his head, expression serious.

“No, we didn’t,” he insists. “I grew up here on Earth.  _ Alone _ . What are you even doing here?”

Tom says, “Sonic,” but Sonic shakes his head.

“Be quiet, Donut Lord. I wanna hear it from him.”

Tails still doesn’t look up, doesn’t meet Sonic’s eyes. “I remember you, when I was really little. We were like brothers. Longclaw took care of us, until my mother came back for me. She thought she’d found a safe place for me. You left Mobius while I was gone.

“My mother and I weren’t as safe as we thought. I had trouble hiding that I had two tails, and the echidnas found me. My mother died, protecting me. I was alone for weeks, and all I wanted was my brother and my mom. Longclaw found me again after a while, and took care of me.”

Sonic shakes his head at this. “She abandoned me, but she kept you?” He asks, and there’s a bitterness to his voice that Tom has only heard when Sonic was angry that he was leaving Green Hills. This could get dangerous quickly, if Sonic can’t calm down. “And now you’re here to, what, rub it in my face?”

Tails shakes his head frantically. “No, not at all! It’s not like that at all!”

Sonic yells, “Longclaw  _ knew _ where I was! She sent me here! And I was alone for ten years, during which she never checked up on me, not once!”

His quills begin to glow, energy sparking between them like lightning. Tails jumps back again, shouting. Tears gather in his eyes, wide and afraid. Tom steps forward, ignoring the dryness he can feel in the air radiating off of Sonic.

“Sonic,” he says, gentle but firm, “come with me for a minute.”

It doesn’t seem like he’s calm enough to obey, but he does, stalking quickly into the hallway with Tom. Just like his quills, his eyes are glowing an electric blue. Tom asks, “can I touch your arms, bud?”

Sonic nods harshly, and Tom reaches out, laying his hands on Sonic’s shoulders. “Take a deep breath, kid, nice and slow, just like I’m doing,” Tom says gently, and takes a deep, exaggerated breath. He holds it for a moment before letting it out. Sonic copies him, and after a couple of minutes, the glow around him starts to fade. He moves closer to Tom, who opens his arms for a hug. Sonic immediately nestles his head against Tom’s shoulder.

Slowly, Tom says, “I think you should listen to what Miles has to say, but I’m not taking you back in there until I know you won’t get upset like that again.” Sonic shakes his head, effectively rubbing his forehead against Tom’s shirt.

“What if I don’t want to,” Sonic asks petulantly. Tom frowns a bit.

“I know it’s hard to hear about, but Miles is here because of Longclaw. From what he told me, it’s pretty important.” Tom tells him. Sonic pulls back.

“What did he tell you? I think I’d rather hear it from you.”

So Tom tells him what he knows, for as much as he can articulate it. Sonic’s posture becomes less defensive as he goes on, until he looks extremely worried.

“The echidnas took her... She survived the first attack, then? She got away from them?” Sonic asks. Tom nods.

“Miles said that she refused to tell them where she sent you, and they didn’t have any ring portals, so they eventually gave up,” Tom says. Sonic frowns.

“But why wouldn’t she come back to get me when it was safe?” Sonic asks. Tom doesn’t know the answer.

Tails does. He’s still in the interview room when Tom coaxes Sonic to go back, sitting curled on his chair at the table. Unlike before, he doesn’t get up when Sonic enters. Instead, he stays where he is. He still looks a bit shaken up.

Sonic keeps his distance, instead taking the chair that Tom had previously occupied. Tom himself stays in the room, leaning on the corner of the table near Sonic. He tries to keep his body language as open and calm as possible.

“Sorry for upsetting you,” Sonic says gently, and Tails nods a bit, just barely. “Can I ask you a few questions? About Longclaw?” Tails nods again, more noticeably this time. “She left me alone, for ten years. Maybe she couldn’t come see me, but why didn’t she at least come check to make sure I was okay?”

“She couldn’t,” Tails says. His voice is quiet. “When she sent you through the portal, she gave you all the rings she had. In ten years, we only ever found one more, and it was the one I used to come find you. We only had it for a few days, before...”

Before the echidnas took her. “Did she send you to find me?” Sonic asks.

Tails shrugs. “I came on my own,” he says, “because you were the only person I could think of to help. But we were planning on coming together, once we knew for sure you were still here.”

Sonic frowns a bit at that. “Where else would I have been?”  
  
“There were three power signatures, a few months ago,” says Tails. “We knew they were yours, because Longclaw still had one of your quills. The first two signatures were here on Earth, but the third was on an uninhabited planet. We thought maybe you’d left Earth.”

Tom asks, “why didn’t you go to that planet, then? You said you only had one ring, that’s only one trip.”

“The echidnas also knew about the power signatures,” Tails says. “We still don’t know how they found out. But they came to see if we knew anything, and saw the maps and my equipment. They don’t know about Earth, but they do know about the other planet. I had to take the risk that Sonic would still be here, because it was the only option I had. There’s probably already echidnas on the other planet, searching.”

“How many of them,” Sonic asks. He wonders how big of a threat they think he is.

“Probably most of them. They  _ really _ want your powers,” Tails says. “They’d leave a few, probably four or five, to stay and guard prisoners, plus the guardian, and maybe the chief. But it would make saving Longclaw a lot easier, since we’d have less of them to fight.”

Sonic doesn’t even have to think it over. It’s been so long, but he still misses Longclaw. If Tails is being truthful about her wanting to find him too, then Sonic can’t just leave her there.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is a chapter. i feel like there's probably a lot of exposition dump via dialogue but i couldn't think of a better way to convey the information? meh.
> 
> i tend to have at least two full chapters written ahead and finished before posting a new chapter. thus far it's worked, but now i've hit a point where i need stuff to happen, but i cant think of anything. ~~maybe watching some sonic boom will help~~
> 
> i'll think of something eventually. probably.


	4. Miss You (More Than I Did Yesterday)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sonic starts, “I- don’t have a plan,” and slumps a bit. After a moment, he turns to Tails.  
>  Tom turns too. “What about you, Miles? Any ideas?”  
> Tails looks down sadly. “Not yet,” he admits, “I was focusing on finding Sonic first.” Sonic slumps down again._

Miles wasn’t sure how long he had been alone, just that he had been awake a long time, and he was hungry. He’d thought about going out to look for berries or fruits nearby, but he didn’t have any way to hide his two tails, and it had been raining for a long time. Everything was cold inside his cave, and some of it was wet, too.

Occasionally, the ground shook with thunder. The noise made Miles shake too. What was worse was the lightning. Miles had been sitting in the cave so long that he was used to the darkness of it, and he didn’t have anything but his memories to really pay attention to anyway. But the lightning would strike, leaving the air nearby feeling dry and heavy.

Miles was terrified.

More thunder rolled in, shaking the ground, and after five breaths, the flash of the lightning. Miles whimpered, and curled further on himself. “Mama,” he whimpered.

As if in response, another round of thunder and lightning hit, this time four breaths apart. “Mama!” Miles cried. “Sonic! Lo’claw!”

He wraped both tails around his hands, one each. He lost the bandages his mother had wrapped around his tails while he was running from the echidnas, and even when he found his way back to her, lying lifeless on the ground, he didn’t find them again. More lightning flashed.

With each flash of light, the shadows of the cave grew more and more ominous. Shadows seemed to grow from nothing, taking shapes that were tall and wide. Miles moved as far into a corner as he could.

When the storm was over and the sun rose, Miles fell asleep, still curled just as tight.

* * *

Tom shakes his head and crosses his arms. “Now, hang on a second here. What’s the plan?”

Sonic says, “go save Longclaw, duh.” He stands in his chair as he says it, ready to zip off, but Tom gently coaxes him to sit down again.

“That’s not what I meant, kid,” he says plainly. “I mean, how are you going to save Longclaw? What’s your plan for dealing with the echidnas, or for finding her?”

Sonic starts, “I- don’t have a plan,” and slumps a bit. After a moment, he turns to Tails.

Tom turns too. “What about you, Miles? Any ideas?”

Tails looks down sadly. “Not yet,” he admits, “I was focusing on finding Sonic first.” Sonic slumps down again.

Tom says, “alright, here are the rules. You two are going to come up with a plan, together. Once you’ve got one, you tell me. Once you’ve got your plan, then you can go get Longclaw.”

Sonic starts, “but Tom-”

Tom says, “I know this is important, but so’s your safety. You can’t just go rushing into danger without thinking.”

Sonic crosses his arms, mostly for show. He gets where Donut Lord is coming from with this one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still suck. “Fine,” he says, dragging out the word.

* * *

It takes Maddie just five seconds to decide that Miles will be staying with them during his time on Earth.

“If he knows Sonic, he’ll probably be more comfortable sticking near him,” she says wisely. “And it will give him and Sonic more time together to come up with a plan.”

Sonic is mostly okay with the arrangement, although he voices concern about sharing a room with Miles. He also still seems a bit unsure about him, although he’s being nice now.

“You won’t have to share a room with him if you don’t want to,” Tom promises. “We can find somewhere for him to sleep.” Sonic nods, and seems a bit relieved.

Tails seems nice enough, but Sonic’s lack of familiarity with him, despite Tails’ claims of knowing him, are a bit off putting.

Wade is still are the main desk when Tom leads Sonic and Miles out of the station. He offers a hand for a high five, which Sonic eagerly accepts.

“It’s your birthday today, isn’t it, little dude?” Wade asks. Sonic nods excitedly.

“Maddie and Tom made cake!” He tells Wade, who smiles.

Tails looks between Sonic, Tom, and Wade. His face scrunches up, in a very obviously confused way. “Birthday? What day is today?” Tails asks. Wade leans over to peer at the calendar on the next desk over.

“Tuesday, June twenty third, twenty-twenty,” Wade reads.

Tails looks back over to Sonic, and his expression is a combination of horrified and upset. “It’s today? You’re fifteen already?” Tails asks, voice high. Sonic and Tom share a confused look, but before they can ask about it, Tails continues, “I didn’t realize it was so close. We- we were going to come find you on your birthday. And now Longclaw isn’t here...”

Tom turns to Tails and asks, “are you saying today really  _ is _ Sonic’s birthday?”

Tails nods, confused. “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I didn’t know when my birthday was,” Sonic says quietly. “I was too young to remember, when I came to Earth. I chose a day at random. But it really was today...”

Tails offers Sonic a hand, though he doesn’t take it. He drops it to his own wrist. “Longclaw and I always celebrated it,” Tails tells him gently. “We’d find some flowers, and bring them to the spot where Longclaw opened the portal. She’d tell me all of her stories about you, to make sure I’d remember.” Slowly, gently, Tails places a hand on Sonic’s shoulder. Sonic doesn’t shrug it off, but doesn’t lean into it either. He just lets it be there. “She misses you terribly. So did I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen sonic's canon birthday is the 23rd and i figured that since longclaw raised tails, they'd have done something for it. who cares that mobius probably wouldn't use the gregorian calendar. it doesn't have to make sense.


	5. I'd Like To Learn Your Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _After a moment, Tom catches Tails’ eyes in the rearview mirror. “So,” he asks, “do you prefer being called Miles, or Tails?”  
>  “I’m more used to being called Miles, but you can call me Tails if you’d prefer,” Tails says. Tom nods.  
> “And you said Sonic was the one who started calling you that?” Tom asks. When Tails nods, he chuckles. “Sounds just like you,” he says to Sonic, and then he looks back at Tails in the rearview again. “He’s got nicknames for everyone in town here. He used to call me Donut Lord.”  
> “I still call you Donut Lord,” Sonic points out._

It took Longclaw much longer to be sure she had shaken off the echidnas then it did for the wound in her side to heal.

They were relentless at first, until they realized that Sonic wasn’t coming back. Then they doubled down briefly, before giving up entirely. Still, Longclaw snuck back to her home in the dead of night, took only what was necessary (one of Sonic’s blue quills, which he’d lost in his sleep, the dying flower he’d tried to give her, and what little food she had) and fled.

She made it to the other side of the island without getting caught, and took shelter in an abandoned fox den. It was quite barren, just a small space burrowed into a hill, but it provided the protection Longclaw needed in that moment. She put together a small bed of leaves and grass for herself, and diligently avoided getting any dirt near her wound. It healed in two weeks.

The next month after that, she explored her new territory at night, alone with nothing but her thoughts. She wondered about Vixen, so thankful for everything Longclaw had done for her, and finally able to take care of Miles without fear. She remembered Vixen telling her that she’d found a place here, to the south of the island, but so far, Longclaw had not seen hide nor hair of her. She tried not to worry, because she could only worry so much. Her concern for Sonic, alone in a new world, all by himself and barely five, was taking up more of her thoughts.

A branch rustled nearby. Longclaw lifted her head and moved forward. She needed to gather food, of course, but also hoped that whoever was nearby wouldn’t see her as she did. There was no time to worry about others now, when she herself needed to get so many things done. A flash of white passed by the corner of her eye.

The trail of movement ended in a nearby bush. Longclaw approached it slowly, and as calmly as she could, though she could feel herself tensing. She just hoped whoever this was, they were in the mood to be reasonable.

The white tip of a tail peeked out of the bush, waving anxiously. A bit of orange fur further along the appendage made it clear to Longclaw just what was hiding inside that bush, even if she couldn’t be sure of their identity.

“Come on out, little fox,” she said gently. “I won’t hurt you.” The kit whimpered, and slowly, eventually, emerged from the bush.

“Lo’claw?” The little fox asked. His fur was matted in clumps, and he was much smaller than she remembered. The fur around his muzzle was stained, as was his belly, with dirt and blood. One of his arms had clumps of fur missing, and the skin underneath was red and angry-looking. His two tails were tied together in a knot. Longclaw couldn’t believe her eyes.

“ _ Miles? _ ”

* * *

Sonic is quick to jump into the front passenger seat of Tom’s new truck, but Tails doesn’t seem eager to go near it. Tom has to coax him gently into the backseat, though he is able to get onto the seat and figure out the seatbelt on his own. As Tom starts the truck, Tails jumps at the sound of the radio. Tom turns it down.

“What is that,” Tails asks. There’s a distinct awe in his voice.

Tom says, “it’s a radio. It plays music, and the news sometimes.” Tails doesn’t question further, though he does lean forward to try to get a closer look.

After a moment, Tom catches Tails’ eyes in the rearview mirror. “So,” he asks, “do you prefer being called Miles, or Tails?”

“I’m more used to being called Miles, but you can call me Tails if you’d prefer,” Tails says. Tom nods.

“And you said Sonic was the one who started calling you that?” Tom asks. When Tails nods, he chuckles. “Sounds just like you,” he says to Sonic, and then he looks back at Tails in the rearview again. “He’s got nicknames for everyone in town here. He used to call me Donut Lord.”

“I still call you Donut Lord,” Sonic points out. “Maddie asked me to stop calling her Pretzel Lady, though.” She had been sure to let Sonic know that she doesn’t mind the nickname, she just prefers to be called by her name instead, so Sonic did as asked. He still calls Tom by his nickname from time to time because Tom never really asked him to stop.

Tom has just turned the truck off the main road into town and onto the long dirt road leading to the house when Sonic turns in his seat to look at Tails. “What was it like? Growing up with Longclaw?” He asks.

Tails leans forward a bit to get closer to Sonic, bringing his shoes up onto the seat next to him. “She taught me to fly,” Tails claims, “and she’d let me play with spare parts when she found them. Whenever I built something, she always made sure I knew she was proud of me, and that she thought you would be too.” Tails’ handheld device, which he had kept in hand almost all day, is passed forward toward Sonic, who watches it carefully as it beeps steadily at him. “I built this a few months ago!” Tails beams. Sonic, for his credit, does give Tails a big smile.

“Let’s go back for a second,” Tom says, “did you just say Longclaw taught you to fly?” Sonic seems to catch it this time, too.

“What? There’s no way!” He says. He doesn’t remember much about his home planet, but he’s sure he’d remember something as big as  _ foxes being able to fly _ . Then again, he supposes, all he really remembers from his home planet is the day Longclaw sent him to Earth, and not much else.

“It’s true,” Tails says insistently. “I can fly using my tails. I’m not lying!”

Tom says, “we didn’t say you were lying, kid. Flying foxes just aren’t something that really exists here on Earth. Maybe you could give us a little demonstration?”

Tails, of course, agrees to show them how he flies, though he seems nervous about it. Tom isn’t sure if it has to do with Maddie also watching, a new person for Tails, or if he’s nervous because of Sonic. For as eager as he seemed to reunite with him, both Tails and Sonic seem to be at quite the loss of how to act around one another.

The actual feat of Tails flying is quite interesting to watch. He takes a running start off the front porch staircase, his tails twisting behind him but never getting tangled or twisted together. As if defying physics, his entire body lurches when he jumps, until his back is flat, parallel to the ground, and his tails spin almost too fast to see. He hovers in place for a moment, and then zips forward a bit. He flies faster than either Tom or Maddie could ever run, but nowhere near as fast as Sonic.

Of course, Sonic doesn’t seem to care how fast or slow Tails is, because he’s too focused on being awestruck that the fox can even fly. “That’s amazing,” he cries, zipping over to the end of the driveway, where Tails is currently hovering. As if it’s a challenge, Tails propels himself back towards the house. Sonic beats him back to the porch, and offers him a high five when Tails finally lands in front of him.

“That was physiologically impossible,” Maddie whispers to Tom, who just nods.

“Yes, it was,” he agrees. The two both look back at Sonic and Tails, the former leading the latter inside by the hand excitedly. “But it was still pretty cool to watch.”

“Yes, it was,” Maddie agrees, and then calls out to Sonic and Tails to keep out of her kitchen as she follows them inside.

* * *

“And I sleep up here. I have the whole attic to myself, it’s great, come see!” Sonic says, still dragging Tails through the house by the wrist. For his part, Tails is mostly just trying to keep up, though he is starting to look a bit overwhelmed. Tom isn’t sure if he’s trying not to complain, or if he’s just too afraid to say anything.

As Sonic conducts his tour, Tom and Maddie are changing the sheets in the spare bedroom by the staircase. Usually Rachel and Jojo use this room, on the rare occasion that Rachel does come by to visit. The visits are exceedingly rare given Rachel’s intense dislike of Tom, however, so the sheets have stayed on the bed for quite some time. They’re most definitely clean sheets, but fresh ones are still nice.

While they’re pulling the bedspread back onto the bed, they can hear Sonic and Tails rushing down the stairs again. By this point, Tails has easily seen the entire house except for the master bedroom, so there likely isn’t much more for Tails to see around the house.

Then again, Sonic is equal parts enthusiastic and persistent, and Tails has thus far seemed intrigued or in awe of all the Earth technology he’s encountered in the house, so maybe there’s still something to see.

“This is Ozzy!” Sonic says. At hearing his name, the dog sits up, and after a moment, approaches Sonic. Tails takes a step back, unsure. Meanwhile, Sonic gives Ozzy’s head a nice scratch, laughing as Ozzy licks at his cheek and neck. “As you can see, he’s very friendly. Come see!”

Slowly, Tails steps forward, ending up behind Sonic. Sonic gently offers his hand to Ozzy to sniff, who immediately gives it a generous lick. Once he pulls his hand away, he encourages Tails to do the same. Tails, still a bit reluctant of such a large creature before him, slowly reaches forward.

Ozzy takes a few seconds to evaluate Tails’ scent before deciding he’s worthy of a good licking. First, he does lick Tails’ hand, and then moves forward, quickly going for his face. Tails, startled, tries to press his chin into his chest, then laughs, trying to get Ozzy to move away.

“It tickles!” He squeals, and Sonic laughs too. Together, they manage to get Ozzy away from Tails, before he proceeds to plop himself back down onto his doggy bed.

Tom appears in the doorway a moment later. “Having fun, boys?” He asks, and both Sonic and Tails nod, not quite in unison.

“I think Ozzy likes me,” Tails says wiping at the fur of his muzzle with one gloved hand. Tom smiles at that.

“Ozzy likes everyone,” he says, “he’s a very friendly dog. Now, go wash up please. Dinner’s ready.”

“Yes!” Sonic says, “chili dog time!”

Tails asks, “what’s a chili dog?” Sonic stops in his tracks and turns to look at Tails.

“Buddy, just you wait. You are in for a treat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my fastest update so far. i dont really know what else to say about this.


	6. Been Holding On Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“It’s for the best.” But even as she said it, something in her didn’t believe it.  
>  Sonic clearly didn’t either. “He’s safe here, with us. I don’t want him to go, I want Tails to stay!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a good thing y'all seem to like Sonic and Tails bonding because there's a lot of it coming your way.

The way Miles was clinging to Sonic was heartbreaking, Longclaw thought.

She had known for most of the time that Miles had stayed with them that it was very likely to be temporary. Vixen did her best to visit any chance she got, and often spoke to Longclaw during these visits about what she was doing to try to find a safe place to raise Miles. During her last visit, Vixen had given Longclaw more details, saying she’d found a place near the south of the island and that she’d be coming back to get Miles within the week.

The week was up, now.

Sonic, for his part, had tried to keep positive as the days passed by, but both Longclaw and Miles could tell that he wasn’t as okay with the situation as he let on. He had stopped calling him “Tails” and started calling him by his real name. Sonic also avoided Miles where he could, purposely missing high fives and backing away from any attempt at hugs. He was pushing Miles away, which upset the little kit, but even when Longclaw had asked him about it, Sonic denied it.

And now, he’d given it up completely, clinging to Miles just as tightly. Even though Sonic was barely much bigger than Miles was, he was certainly doing his best to try to pick him up, as if that would stop him having to leave. The tighter Miles clung, the closer Sonic got to tears.

Eyes wide and wet, Sonic asked Longclaw, “why can’t Tails stay?” The return of the nickname, which had all but vanished six days before, caused Miles to try to jump further into Sonic’s arms, and Sonic obliged by again trying to pick him up, to no avail.

Longclaw approached the two, wrapping a wing around Sonic’s shoulders. “Miles is going to stay with his mother,” she explained. “It’s for the best.” But even as she said it, something in her didn’t believe it.

Sonic clearly didn’t either. “He’s safe here, with us. I don’t want him to go, I want Tails to stay!”

Miles lifted his face from Sonic’s fur, tears streaming from his eyes and down his muzzle. “Stay!” He echoed. “Lo’claw, wanna stay!”

Longclaw brought her other wing around the two boys, enveloping them in a hug. “Sometimes,” she said, “you need to say goodbye, even when you don’t want to. But this doesn’t have to be goodbye. This could be ‘see you later,’ and we just don’t know it yet.”

Longclaw didn’t know how long the three of them stood there, all in various stages of crying, and unwilling to let go. Their little family was about to get smaller, whether they liked it or not.

* * *

Maddie can tell that Miles is starting to crash during dinner. Even having only met him two hours prior, she can see the signs of fatigue. Clearly, today has been long for him.

He’s nowhere near as enthusiastic about the chili dogs as Sonic is, although he does thank Maddie and Tom for feeding him. During dinner, he doesn’t speak much, instead listening to Sonic and the Wachowskis as they converse amongst themselves. He does seem excited about trying some of Sonic’s birthday cake, and even comments on the frosting being the same colour as Sonic’s fur ( _ mission accomplished _ ), but his eyes, which were already looking heavy, begin to droop as he eats. A fair helping of frosting ends up in the fur around his muzzle, which he insists on cleaning off himself after Maddie offers him a wet cloth.

She sits Miles down on the couch with her phone once they’re done with the cake, pulling up YouTube. “Is there anything about Earth that you’re curious about?” Maddie asks Miles, and he nods.

“Technology,” he says quietly, so she types that into the search bar.

The first recommended result in the search bar is “ _ technology connections _ ,” which Maddie taps on. It turns out to be a YouTube channel, professional looking, if a bit minimalist, with just a lightbulb filament as the channel icon, and the banner is an RBG pattern. After a quick glance, Maddie pulls up the most recent upload, adjusts the autoplay function so it’s turned on, and gently sets the phone in Miles’ hands. He’s transfixed right away.

With Miles distracted, she and Tom use the opportunity to give Sonic his  _ Quicksilver _ comics, which he thanks them profusely for. “He’s blue, just like me!” Sonic exclaims, when he opens one up to take a look. He happily sits at the kitchen table flipping through them for a good forty-five seconds before he’s read the six books cover to cover, then he runs them up to his room. When he comes back, he sets to work helping Tom clean the dishes.

As Tom hands Sonic one of the plates to dry off, he says, “listen, bud, I know you really like  _ Speed _ , but maybe for tonight you can pick something a bit less, intense?”

Sonic looks at Tom for a moment, then down to the plate he’s drying, a thoughtful expression on his face. He turns to Maddie after a moment. “Can we watch that Nick Cage movie you were telling me about?”

Surprisingly, or maybe it shouldn’t be, Sonic quickly became enamoured with Nicolas Cage after seeing him in  _ National Treasure _ . He’s nearly as attached as he is to Keanu Reeves. Maddie had let slip that he was also in another Disney film,  _ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice _ , and only his desire to watch  _ Speed _ for his birthday kept Sonic from begging for a second movie last week. With Keanu off the table now, though, Nick Cage seems to be the solution.

“Yeah, I can go pull it up, if you take your time helping with the dishes.” Maddie bargains. Sonic nods happily, and as asked, dries off the dishes at a normal speed. The whole thing takes a painless fifteen minutes, and then Sonic and Maddie go back into the living room to prepare the movie while Tom handles the popcorn.

Miles is still engrossed in Maddie’s phone, fighting valiantly to keep his eyes open as the soothing voice behind the camera explains something about copy-protection and Sony game consoles. Maddie peers over his shoulder to find that he’s watching the video in small screen, and the title proves that it’s a second video, seemingly about halfway through. If Tom finishes the popcorn before the video ends, Maddie decides she’ll let Miles finish it before putting the phone away.

In the end, Tom has the perfect timing to come into the living room just as Miles hands Maddie back her phone. Tom sits on the far end of the couch with Ozzy at his feet, and Sonic nestled firmly into his side. Maddie sits on Sonic’s other side, and Miles leans against the couch’s arm. He’s still fighting to stay awake during the flashback opening of the movie, but by the time it cuts to the scene with the non-Cage main character as a child, his eyes are firmly shut. Maddie gently brushes the little tufts of fur away from his eyes, and Miles snuffles a bit.

“You two keep the movie going,” she says quietly to Tom and Sonic. “I’m gonna get this guy to bed.”

* * *

For as tired as he was during the evening, Tails doesn’t end up sleeping for long.

He wakes up to an eerie silence and a pitch dark room, what feels like only a few minutes after Maddie had led him upstairs. The only source of light he can see is a faint red glow across the room (he remembers Sonic saying it was an alarmed clock). The red glow forms some small numbers, 1:02.

After what feels like an eternity, but according to the clock is really only thirteen minutes, Tails pushes himself upright in bed and fumbles towards the left edge. Next to the bed is a table with a lamp on it, which he manages to feel for and turn on quickly and without incident. Once his eyes adjust to the sudden light of the lamp, Tails finally gets his first real look at the room he’s been put in.

The walls are a pale green colour, a bit like grass but with a faint teal tone underneath. They’re also mostly bare, aside from a framed photograph of a young, smiling girl. The clock that Tails could see through the dark is on top of a vanity mirror, and then there’s the table with the lamp, and the big bed Tails is currently sitting on. There’s also two doors in the room. One leads out into the hallway and the rest of the house, but Tails isn’t sure where the other goes, if it goes anywhere at all. He’s still not quite sure the purpose and logistics of a linen closet.

A noise rumbles from somewhere above Tails’ head, followed by a soft thudding noise just outside the room. Sonic’s voice then rings out, a short but quiet, “Ozzy!”

The dog’s paws are loud on the floor of the hallway and down the stairs, presumably as he follows Sonic. Tails stays still as he hears more noises downstairs; a fumbling that sounds like things knocking together, some running water, and then something dropping gently onto metal. After another moment, Tails can hear Ozzy trailing back up the stairs. He keeps going, but the sound of Sonic climbing back into the attic doesn’t come.

The door into the hallway opens slowly. After a moment, Sonic’s head leans around the edge of the door. Tails’ first instinct is to go slack, and pretend to be asleep. Of course, this backfires, as his head smacks harshly against the wooden headboard of the bed. Immediately, he shoots up into a sitting position again, holding onto the back of his head.

“Ow,” he complains quietly. When he pulls his hand away, his glove is clean. Not injured, then. Looking up, he realizes Sonic has zipped forward, and is now standing at the foot of the bed.

“Were you trying to pretend to be asleep?” Sonic asks. Tails nods sheepishly.

“Longclaw always tells me I stay up too late tinkering,” he admits. Sonic shrinks in on himself a bit, but after a moment, steps closer to the bed.

“Is that why you’re awake now?”

Tails shakes his head. “No. Everything’s new. It’s all so different from home.”

Sonic nods, a sad look on his face. He must’ve gone through this ten years ago, all by himself. He sets a hand on the mattress, and asks Tails, “can I join you?”

Tails gives him a grateful nod, and Sonic jumps onto the bed. There’s still a good three feet between them, which somehow feels more daunting then the decade they’ve spent apart.

“How  _ was  _ Longclaw?” Sonic asks, after another few minutes. “Before?”

Tails says, “she’s very determined. She spent nearly ten years trying to find more ring portals, but once we picked up your energy signatures here on Earth, she found one within the month. And she always made sure I had enough to eat, even if she didn’t.”

That does sound like the Longclaw that Sonic remembers. She was always determined to keep him safe, determined to make sure he was happy and taken care of. Determined to protect him, at all costs.

Hoping for a distraction, Sonic says, “and she told you stories? About me?”

Tails takes it at face value, but doesn’t indicate if he knows that Sonic’s trying to divert the conversation or not. “If there was one thing she wanted, it was to make sure I didn’t forget you. The only thing she wanted more than that was for us to find you again someday.”

A pang goes through Sonic’s chest. It’s not physical, but it certainly feels like it is. “What were the stories? I don’t really remember our home planet.”

They end up facing each other, each leaning to one side against the headboard. Tails sits curled up against a pillow, hugging it to his chest, while Sonic opts to stretch out a bit. He keeps his eyes firmly on Tails as he tells his stories. Sometimes, Tails will fumble a few words in pure excitement, but there’s a spark in his eyes as he talks. That spark has a lot of weight behind it, Sonic thinks. That spark is memory, motivation, determination, personality. It’s almost like Tails’ very being is brought together and laid out before Sonic in the stories he tells.

He tells Sonic about their first meeting, and the origin of his nickname. “The only word you said for the next week was ‘tails.’” Tails’ first word was apparently “Sonic.”

He tells Sonic about accidentally tripping them both while trying to run after him for the first time. He mentions a game of tag they played together, before rushing inside to hide at Longclaw’s warning. “It was only my mother visiting,” Tails says, “but you still had to stay hidden.” Turns out, Longclaw actively kept Sonic a secret, even from Tails’ own mother.

“There was once, when Longclaw was out gathering food, that a storm came in. She started heading back towards the house when she noticed it, but it was faster than she expected. There was thunder and lightning, lots of it. When she finally got back, ready to comfort us, we weren’t scared at all. She said that you and I were dancing to the rumbling of the thunder when she got inside. Actually, according to Longclaw, that was the only time I didn’t get upset during a storm...”

_ This _ is something Sonic remembers, the only story so far. He doesn’t remember it being Tails with him, but he remembers  _ someone _ dancing with him in the thunder and lightning of the night. He had always thought it was Longclaw. A few times after arriving on Earth, Sonic had tried to recreate the memory, but it was no fun to do it alone, so he’d stopped after the second or third storm. Picturing it now, in his head, it feels like the memory is starting to brighten at the edges. It’s still fuzzy, but he thinks he can almost picture a very young Tails dancing next to him.

Eventually, Tails grows tired of talking. “Tell me about you, Sonic. What’s life here on Earth like?” His eyes are drooping again, and look heavy to match, but he doesn’t sound tired, just content. 

“I was alone for most of it,” Sonic admits. “I only met Tom and Maddie a few months ago. Before that, I mostly just watched everyone in town.”

He doesn’t talk about Eggman, or about his first meeting with Tom, but he does talk a bit about the San Francisco trip, and some other stuff he’s done, too. “I saved a turtle once, and then we ran down the highway together. It was great. We had so much fun. And I’ve been all around the world, too! I ran right into the Pacific ocean once, and through Paris, oh, and on the Great Wall of China! And I started a sandstorm in Egypt near the pyramids too, that was fun.”  _ It wasn’t  _ that _ fun, _ Sonic thinks to himself,  _ because I only did it to try to lose a madman bent on killing me _ . He doesn’t want Tails to know about that, of course.

“Tom and Maddie have been super nice to me too,” Sonic continues. “I lost my rings once, and Tom helped me find them. That’s why I went to San Francisco, Tom took me. When we got back, he and Maddie moved all my stuff from my old cave into the attic upstairs. That was a really good surprise. I might have almost cried, maybe. Don’t tell anyone.”

When Sonic takes a look over at Tails, he’s fast asleep. His grip on the pillow he’s been hugging has relaxed, though he’s still safely curled around it. Sonic smiles a bit. It’s really kind of cute, honestly. 

Quietly, Sonic gets up from the bed, walking around it to cover Tails with the sheet and then turn off the lamp. When he passes the still open door, Ozzy gets up, trailing inside and climbing onto the bed to lay down. He lays his head gently on Tails’ ankle over the bedsheet and closes his eyes. Sonic turns off the lamp, and stays still for a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

Once they have, he goes back around the bed, climbing on and leaning against Ozzy’s side. “Buddy, come on, you know you’re not allowed on this bed. Go sleep with Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady,” Sonic says softly. He lays his head gently on Ozzy’s chest, feeling it rumble as Ozzy makes a soft chuffing noise. “Ozzy,” Sonic says again. He closes his eyes, just for a moment, he tells himself.

Tom and Maddie find the three of them still there the next morning, fast asleep. Precisely one photograph exists as evidence of how cute the sight is. Maddie sets it as her new lockscreen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I love Technology Connections, and after watching the Sonic movie and learning more about the characters, asked a friend if she thought Tails would like him too. She said he absolutely would. (Word of warning, though, as entertaining and witty as Technology Connections is, his voice can and has put me right to sleep, late at night.) If you're curious, the video Tails watches about PlayStation copy-protection exists, and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUwSOfQ1D3c 
> 
> Another fun fact: _Speed_ is R rated. It's not the riskiest thing that made it into the Sonic movie but I thought it was really interesting that it was so highly rated. Then again, they don't show anything graphic anyway. Still.


	7. Here Comes The Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sonic rests a hand on Tails’ shoulder.  
>  “Hey. Once we save Longclaw, we can all come back here, and you and Longclaw can have the tree house, okay?” Tails nods, a bit of a smile growing on his face, slowly but surely.  
> “I think she’d like that,” he says._

The path to the north of the island was long and tiring, especially since they weren’t flying. It also weighed a lot on Longclaw in particular, knowing what had happened at their destination.

Sonic would have been turning six, and it made missing him even worse. Miles had been asking more about him recently, since he had recovered a bit from his time alone, and Longclaw had had trouble trying to find a way to explain it to him so he would understand. For a three year old, it wasn’t easy to understand that someone had to go away, and might not come back. It was even harder that unlike the first time, Longclaw couldn’t tell him that he might see Sonic again someday. There was no way for her to promise that, and she didn’t want Miles to resent her someday over a broken, impossible promise.

She was rather impressed with him for not complaining, though. Through the whole walk, he had remained quiet, solemnly holding onto the flowers she had given him. Miles didn’t know quite yet where Longclaw was leading him, but he seemed to sense how serious it was. His little face had a blank and stoic expression as well, though those days, he hadn’t been happy very much.

Miles stopped as suddenly as Longclaw did when they finally reached their destination. It was easy to tell where it was, because there were still marks in the dirt from Longclaw sliding across the ground. There were still notches in the trees from arrows missing their marks. The place looked untouched.

Longclaw gently set down her bundle of flowers, and nodded to Miles to do the same. He did so in a very automatic way, with seemingly no thought or emotion behind it. It made Longclaw sad to see that he was still so far from himself. She supposed, after all he had been through, it would take time. She just hoped that wherever Sonic was, he was doing much better.

“This is where he left,” Longclaw told Miles, after a moment. “This is the last place I saw him.”

For once, Longclaw was the one to pull Miles into an embrace. It broke her heart that he didn’t reach out to her first.

* * *

For the first time in four months, Tom and Maddie call their neighbour Lizzie over for the day. She had babysat Sonic while Tom and Maddie worked for the first month or so that he lived with them, before he proved he was able to stay home alone without causing trouble. Lizzie’s very understanding about Tails’ presence, and promises to keep both him and Sonic entertained and happy while the Wachowskis are at work.

For the most part, she just keeps an eye on them. Sonic is good at entertaining himself, after ten years with no other options, and with Tails around, he has so much more to do. They spend most of the morning out in the backyard, with Ozzy laying in the grass and Lizzie reading a book as she leans against a tree. Sonic uses the time outside to show Tails down a little path to Donut Lord’s most recent project- a tree house not far into the nearby woods.

It’s not quite complete yet, though the main frame of it is built, and a little deck extending past the front. Tom doesn’t want Sonic going inside quite yet, because he plans to use the leftover insulation from fixing the dining room to keep the tree house cozy during the winter. Sonic imagines that it would be okay to show Tails the progress, though, so they take their turns climbing the rope ladder up to the deck.

“Be careful around the edge,” Sonic says. “Tom and I haven’t had a chance to put a rail up yet.” It’s been a nice way to bond, working on the tree house together, though Tom has done most of it himself. Sonic doesn’t necessarily have the best hand-eye coordination, even without bringing up his tendency to get distracted.

Tails does take care not to step too far, but as he looks around the small structure, he seems very awestruck. “You have your own little house!” Tails says. Sonic pauses for a moment.

“I guess,” he admits, “but I’m still going to be living in the attic. Mostly it’s going to be a place where I can be alone if I want. It’s still smaller than Longclaw’s house, anyway.”

Tails shakes his head. “Longclaw doesn’t have a house anymore,” he admits. “We live in an empty fox den. It was easier to hide there. The entrance is at the base of a big hill, so it blends in.”

Sonic tries to imagine it, but all he can picture is his old dream of Longclaw being in his cave with him, back when he was alone for ten years. The thought that the whole time, it wasn’t far from the reality is a sad thing to know. Sonic rests a hand on Tails’ shoulder.

“Hey. Once we save Longclaw, we can all come back here, and you and Longclaw can have the tree house, okay?” Tails nods, a bit of a smile growing on his face, slowly but surely.

“I think she’d like that,” he says.

After a quick look inside, discussing colours they could paint the walls of the treehouse, they make their way back down. As Tails’ feet touch the dirt once again, he gets a mischievous grin. “Tag!” He calls, and nudges Sonic’s shoulder before taking a running jump, trying to fly away. Sonic laughs aloud.

“No fair! Get back here!” Sonic yells after him, zipping right after Tails, who laughs in response.

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

* * *

Maddie ends up getting home first, trying to give Lizzie some money for her troubles.

“It was no trouble at all, Mrs. Wachowski,” says Lizzie, still refusing the money from Maddie. “The boys helped me make lunch, and they were both angels all afternoon.” In the end, Lizzie does except a bit of money, and some of the leftovers from lunch. With one hug each to both Sonic and Miles, and a kiss to the forehead for Ozzy, she walks down the drive and up the road back to her own house again.

Maddie starts on dinner in the kitchen while Sonic and Miles sit side by side at the table. Clearly they’re trying to hash out a plan, though neither really seems to know where to start.

“How many echidnas do you think will be there?” Sonic asks. He’s clearly trying to sound like his usual confident self, but Maddie can tell that there’s a slight fear there underneath. She’s proud that he seems to be doing his best to push past it.

Miles answers, “any number between three and seven. It all depends on if they have other prisoners than just Longclaw, but I don’t think they do right now. They might still have seven echidnas stay behind in case.”

Sonic asks, “but you said we wouldn’t have to worry about two of them?”

Miles nods. “The chief is old, older than Longclaw even. He wouldn’t be strong enough to fight. And the guardian will only come after us if he thinks we’re trying to take the emeralds, which we aren’t.”

They realize quickly that while they have a basic idea of  _ who _ they’re dealing with, the  _ where _ is another question entirely.

“I know where they would have taken Longclaw, but not  _ where _ they’d keep her,” Miles says. Sonic groans lightly.

“I don’t know what that means.” He says. Maddie raises her head to look over at the two.

“Miles?” Maddie asks, and both boys turn in their seats. “Tell me about your home planet. Maybe that might help a bit?”

She seems to have the right idea. With the knowledge that what’s needed is context, Miles is able to fill in a few more gaps pretty quickly. “It’s a different island than where we lived,” he tells Sonic. “We grew up on Christmas Island. The main echidna tribe is on Angel Island. It’s not too far.” Maddie finds him a piece of paper and a pencil, and Miles is able to draw a small map, not very detailed but certainly enough for their current needs. With an idea of the main part of the  _ where _ question, it’s easy to decide how they’ll go about getting there. A ring portal directly to Angel Island is their best bet, as Miles explains that it floats, so they couldn’t swim to it, and Sonic can’t fly. Since neither has been to Angel Island before, they don’t know the layout, but Sonic’s speed can help there.

“I could probably run around and find Longclaw without getting caught,” Sonic says, and Miles nods.

“Exactly. I can wait for you and Longclaw with a ring, ready to open the portal back to Earth.”

Sonic nods, but then frowns a bit. “What about your belongings, though? You and Longclaw can’t just leave your things if the echidnas knew where to find you.”

Miles suggests, “we could go get them once Longclaw is with us, before coming back here?”

Sonic shakes his head. “If we get caught, they’d know we were going straight there. We could get them before? But then Longclaw would be stuck there longer...”

Maddie chimes in again when the two spend a few moments quietly thinking. “Miles could use a portal to go get their things while you search for Longclaw,” she says gently. “Whoever finishes their task first can meet the other and then you won’t have to wait.”

Miles and Sonic share a nod, and then turn back to Maddie. “That’s perfect, Maddie!” Sonic says, and zips over to hug her. Miles follows, taking his time to hop off his chair and walk slowly over. He takes a moment to think about what he wants to do, before following Sonic’s example and hugging Maddie’s leg too.

“Thank you,” Miles says. “For everything.”

“It’s no problem, kiddo,” Maddie smiles, giving him a gentle pat on the back. He relaxes into it quickly. “Now that your plan is taken care of, do you boys want to help me finish up with dinner?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> friendly reminder to please pay your babysitters.


	8. Room For One More Troubled Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“We found him,” Miles said, barely above a whisper. He sounded as though he couldn’t believe it, which Longclaw could understand. She wasn’t sure she believed it, either. “It says he’s on Earth. He’s still there, Longclaw.”  
>  Earth. The same place Longclaw had sent him, ten long years ago. “You’re sure, Miles?” Longclaw asked, and he nodded, turning the Miles Electric so she could see the screen herself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the first chapter not named after mcr lyrics. hooray for fall out boy.

The quill glowing blue wasn’t very out of the ordinary, for as rarely as it had happened. Neither Longclaw nor Miles were sure what caused it, aside from a potential lingering connection between the quill and who it had come from.

They still had no way to know where Sonic was, or how to get there, for all the time they’d spent trying. The only real indication that there was still a Sonic worth searching for was the occasional dull glow of the quill, one he’d lost shortly before leaving Mobius and which Longclaw had never been able to get herself to part with. A few weeks past, Miles had made the discovery that their connection theory was likely correct, when his new project allowed him to isolate Sonic’s energy signature based on readings taken from the quill. He’d even set up a program on his little device to track any spikes detected that had the same signature.

So far, the only time that little device beeped was when their stray quill would glow, just for a few moments. The glow itself often died down before any signature could be locked down, leaving them with no results so far.

To say they were discouraged would be an understatement, after nearly a decade, but both were trying to hold out hope.

This time, though, the glow from the quill was much brighter, and did not fade as quickly. Longclaw gazed at the quill for some time, watching as the glow remained bright and steady, until everything else seemed to fade away into darkness around it. Her attention was eventually pulled away from the quill by some light beeping.

“Miles,” Longclaw said, nudging the fox firmly. He made a displeased noise at first, and didn’t wake up. Longclaw nudged him again, a bit harder. “Miles! The Electric!”

Miles jolted upright, tripping over his own two feet as he tried to make it to his device. The Miles Electric kept beeping quietly and steadily. Eventually, Miles had it in hand, tapping at the screen for a moment. The beeping stopped, and another, deeper noise sounded. Miles stared at his device for a moment before looking up at Longclaw, eyes wide.

“We found him,” Miles said, barely above a whisper. He sounded as though he couldn’t believe it, which Longclaw could understand. She wasn’t sure she believed it, either. “It says he’s on Earth. He’s still there, Longclaw.”

Earth. The same place Longclaw had sent him, ten long years ago. “You’re sure, Miles?” Longclaw asked, and he nodded, turning the Miles Electric so she could see the screen herself. And there it was, on the little map, identical to one she’d once owned herself. Earth was lit up against the dark background of the screen, with the words “signature located,” pointing directly at the planet.

“Sonic,” she whispered, and pulled Miles closer. They clung together, happier than they had been in a long time.

* * *

Sonic and Tails let Tom know of their plan the second he gets home from work. Sonic actually beams when Tom voices his approval of it, and gives both boys a pat on the head. Tails himself leans lightly into the touch, a small smile on his face.

“I hope you both know that you’ll have to wait until morning to put your plan into action,” Tom says, heading upstairs to change out of his uniform. “It’s already dark out. Both of you get a good night’s sleep, I’ll make you some breakfast in the morning before you head out.”

Sonic rushes up the stairs behind Tom, starting to get excited. “Yes! Can you make pancakes please, and bacon? Please, Tom?”

Tom nods, and reaches over to ruffle Sonic’s fur from the doorway of the master bedroom. “Sure thing, kid. Now go on, get ready for bed. It’s already half past nine.”

Sonic pouts, trying to follow Tom into the room. “I’m fifteen! I don’t need to go to bed  _ this _ early, c’mon!” Tails peeks around the frame of the door, watching as Sonic and Tom bicker lightheartedly. 

“And Tails is twelve. Sonic, I know for a fact that you’re going to come in here and wake me up at six on the dot. Go get ready for bed, you need the sleep tonight.”

Without further protest, Sonic does relent, leaving Tom to change as he goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Tails follows him, doing the same with the toothbrush Maddie had given him that morning. Their eyes meet in the mirror, and Sonic pulls a face, opening his mouth wide in a way that leaves spit and toothpaste running down his muzzle as Tails laughs. Once they’re done brushing their teeth, they emerge back out into the hallway together, with Sonic calling out a goodnight to Tom and Maddie downstairs. Tails pauses outside the door of the spare bedroom and watches Sonic jump up, opening the hatch up to his attic bedroom. Sonic meets his eye as his feet land firmly back on the floor.

“Can I stay with you up in your room tonight?” Tails asks. He looks a bit hesitant, like he’s sure Sonic will say no, but his voice is steady. Sonic grins, and nods.

“Of course, buddy. C’mon! Up you go!” He says, gesturing for Tails to head up first. Sonic follows at his heels, and pulls the ladder up behind them.

“You can take my bed for the night,” Sonic says, moving over to drag the beanbag closer to the bed. Tails shakes his head, going over to help Sonic.

“I can’t take your bed. I’ll be fine,” he insists, but Sonic shakes his head right back.

“Nuh-uh. You’re taking the bed. I’ll sleep on the beanbag chair, don’t worry. It’s super comfy.” To illustrate his point, Sonic jumps onto the chair, sinking into it quickly and grabbing a spare blanket from the foot of the bed to wrap himself in. After a moment, Tails does sit down on the bed, taking his shoes off before getting under the covers. For a few minutes, he just sits there, looking around the room at the fairy lights and the mildly vandalized road signs.

“So,” Sonic says, “is there any reason you wanted to sleep up here tonight?”

Tails nods, grimacing lightly. “It’s going to sound dumb,” he says, but when he’s sure Sonic won’t make fun of him, he admits, “I’m nervous, about tomorrow. It feels like something’s going to go wrong, but I’m not sure what.”

Now that Tails has said it, it’s like the feeling falls over Sonic all at once. It’s foreboding and creeping, like the ride footage Maddie showed him once of the Haunted Mansion. It feels like moving backwards, not falling but not walking either, and tilted at a slant. Sonic does his best to push the feeling away, but a thought nags at him.  _ Eggman. What if it’s Eggman? _ But it makes no sense, because Eggman’s on the mushroom planet and there’s no way for him to make it back to Earth on his own.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Sonic says, trying to reassure Tails. He accepts it without protest.

“There’s also something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Tails says, another few minutes later. Sonic nods, a signal for him to ask away. “That energy signature on Mushroom Hill, do you know what caused it? It was very clearly the same as your powers.” The tone is not accusing at all, genuinely curious, but Sonic feels guilty anyway.

After a brief (and thankfully internal) fight with himself, Sonic sits up, turning himself to face Tails directly. “There was someone who found out about me, a few months ago. I was upset, and I lost control of my powers, just for a moment, but that was all he needed. I called him Eggman, but his name was Doctor Robotnik, I think. I had to send him to the mushroom planet to stop him from hurting anyone here in Green Hills.”

Tails frowns, a look of concern blooming on his face. “I sent the echidnas to Mushroom Hill,” he says. “They could find him, if he was the reason for the energy signature.”

Sonic reaches out, and offers Tails a hand, which he takes. “He’s not a fighter. He used robots for that, and he doesn’t have any, anymore. He’s not dangerous to them. The echidnas wouldn’t attack him, would they? He’s so much bigger than them.”

Tails shakes his head, after a moment. “Even with an army of them, they wouldn’t hurt him once they realize he’s powerless. They might not even find him. They don’t have any way to track your power, so whatever Eggman has with him, it won’t lead them to him.”

“What if they do find him, though?” Sonic asks, concerned now. What if they give him a ring portal? What if he comes back? What if he goes after the town again, or Tom and Maddie, or Tails?  _ What if Eggman comes back and Sonic can’t beat him again? _

Tails squeezes Sonic’s hand, getting his attention back. “I don’t think they’ll do anything if they do find him. They’ll probably just assume he lives there. I don’t think they’ve ever even encountered a human before.”

More quiet grows between them, as they both ponder what this might mean. Sonic really hopes it doesn’t end up meaning anything. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he has to face Eggman again.

“Tell me about Longclaw?” Sonic asks gently, eventually. He’s laying down on the beanbag again, turned to face Tails on his bed. Tails himself is curled up on his side as well, facing Sonic.

He tells Sonic the same stories as last night, until both of them are asleep.

* * *

Somehow, the next morning, Sonic and Tails have completely pushed Eggman out of their minds. They run over the details of their plan one last time with Tom and Maddie as they sit across the breakfast table from the humans. They’re both still in their pajamas, and Tom even has his eyemask still around his neck, like he’s planning on taking a nap right after breakfast is finished. (Sonic has seen him do just that several times on his days off. He still doesn’t know whether to tease Tom about it, or be concerned he’s not sleeping enough.)

Both of the Wachowskis have taken the day off, in order to wait for the boys to get back with Longclaw. Not one of them know how long it will take, though they hope it turns out to be short, sweet, and simple. After so long apart, Sonic, Tails, and Longclaw deserve their happy reunion.

Once breakfast has been eaten, Sonic goes upstairs to retrieve his pouch of rings, and then the four of them somberly head out to the backyard, all in a line. Sonic and Tails step up to the spot they plan to open the portal, just underneath the tree house, while Maddie and Tom stay a bit further behind.

“Good luck,” Maddie says, and Tom nods, echoing the sentiment. He wraps an arm around her shoulder. Sonic looks over at Tails for a second, and then zips over to stand before Tom and Maddie, face serious.

“I just want you to know that even though we’re going to get Longclaw and she’s very important to me, I still want you two to be my mom and dad, okay?”

It’s not something they’ve ever really discussed, though Sonic has called them both mom and dad in turn a few times recently. Maddie opens her arms for a hug, which Sonic eagerly jumps into, and Tom piles on to make it a group affair.

“We’d be honoured to be your parents if you want us to, kiddo,” Tom says, and Maddie nods, pressing a short kiss to Sonic’s forehead.

“Now, you two go ahead, and bring Longclaw back here. Don’t take too long, boys,” Maddie says. Sonic nods, and so does Tails. Sonic zips back over.

“And Miles?” Maddie asks. Tails turns around to face her and Tom, nodding. “Come give us a hug, yeah?”

Tails rushes right over, giving first Maddie and then Tom a hug, beaming up at them quickly. He rejoins Sonic, both finally ready to go. After nodding to each other, Sonic throws the ring. Through the portal, they can see an empty section of Angel Island looming ahead of them.

Like a game of follow the leader, Sonic steps through, with Tails right behind him. The portal closes neatly behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next stop, angel island.
> 
> prepare yourselves


	9. We Never Got That Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _As they step through the portal to Angel Island, most of what Sonic and Tails can see is sky.  
>  They arrive at the far edge of the island, overlooking the sea. It seems like a tall cliff at first, just a sudden drop off from grass and plant-life, but as Sonic looks over the edge, all he can see is a steep drop and the water, miles below. He quickly steps back from the edge again.  
> “This is it?” Sonic asks, and Tails nods.  
> “This is it.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to note: this is the last chapter with a flashback at the beginning.

Miles had heard a few times over the years about how Longclaw had distracted the echidnas, the first time, so that Sonic could be safe. Flying straight through a window was daring enough, but leaving herself open, the only thing standing between Sonic and the tribe, was something else entirely. And she’d just done the same thing for Miles, only this time, she’d been captured for her troubles.

She had led them out of the den, taking the paper map she’d drawn up, and the quill, too. Only a few had entered the den to begin with, and only one had seen Miles. He was sure it was the guardian, younger than the rest of the echidnas and the only one not wearing a mask. He had looked straight at Miles and immediately turned around. He didn’t even bother taking the ring that Longclaw had left behind.

Miles looked down at the ring, held firmly in his hand. The other grasped tightly onto the Miles Electric, still beeping lightly with Sonic’s location, even all these months later. Longclaw had had the idea to draw up that paper map, to try to get a new perspective on what they knew. Two signatures had come from Earth, three days apart, and then a third came from the Mushroom Hill another day later. Since then, no other signatures had been registered. Miles tried to be relieved that the echidnas only knew about the Mushroom Hill, but it was hard. There was no way to know for sure that Sonic  _ wasn’t _ really there, after all, even despite how weak the signature there had been. Compared to the ones from Earth, it was next to nothing.

Longclaw had given him a chance, though. He had to take it. If he didn’t find Sonic, then maybe he’d find another way to get help. Miles wasn’t going to leave Longclaw at the mercy of the tribe, he swore to himself.

“I’ll find him, and I’ll bring him back. We’ll save you, Longclaw.” Miles said, more to himself. He looked back down at the Miles Electric, focusing on the little blip that was supposed to be Sonic. Assuming it was actually Sonic.

Miles threw the ring.

On the other side, he could see a bright sunny day, and trees as far as the horizon. It was a blinding, jarring sight, compared to the cave he’d found shelter in. After a moment, he stood, jumping through. He landed firmly on both feet, on a rocky cliff, surrounded by leaves and open air. The Miles Electric beeped rapidly.

“If these readings are accurate,” Miles muttered to himself, “he’s here. I’ve found him!” He powered off the screen, lowering the device, and looking forward into the trees. Before him, he could see buildings, and what appeared to be a town, clustered together in a clearing.

“I just hope I’m not too late.”

* * *

As they step through the portal to Angel Island, most of what Sonic and Tails can see is sky.

They arrive at the far edge of the island, overlooking the sea. It seems like a tall cliff at first, just a sudden drop off from grass and plant-life, but as Sonic looks over the edge, all he can see is a steep drop and the water, miles below. He quickly steps back from the edge again.

“This is it?” Sonic asks, and Tails nods.

“This is it.”

Sonic reaches into his bag of rings, pulling out two of them. He hands them to Tails without fanfare, and nods. Tails slips one inside his glove, and keeps the other firmly in his grasp, ready to throw.

“I’ll get our things. You find Longclaw, and be careful.” Tails says. Sonic nods, and reaches his fist out for Tails to bump.

“See you soon, buddy. You be careful too.” Sonic says. Tails bumps his fist, nodding.

“Home,” Tails says, and throws the ring. Sonic can see a lot of dirt and not much else from where he’s standing, but Tails doesn’t hesitate to jump through. Once he does, Sonic turns away.  _ Time to find Longclaw _ , he thinks.

Angel Island is very dense with nature, and not much else, so far as Sonic can see. There are a few tall mountain peaks, and lots of hills. Once he passes the first peak, one of the shortest on the island, he sees signs of life. The buildings look old, and are clearly no longer in use. Pieces of rock litter the ground around the crumbling structures. They look like ruins, and quite ornate to begin with. Sonic wonders if this used to be a temple.

The further he goes, the more stone structures he sees, and they get newer with each and every step. They’re all still empty, of course, but they’re brightly coloured and clustered together, like a village of it’s own. This appears to be the inhabited part of the island. Sonic idly wonders how many echidnas might live here, but he doesn’t have time to ponder it. He’s got things to do.

In the middle of the island are two larger mountain peaks, each covered with snow at the very top. Between them is a large flat plain, with even more temple-like structures around. Sonic approaches cautiously, doing his best to remain out of sight, although he doesn’t see any echidnas around himself.

He has no way of knowing which of these buildings might be the one Longclaw is being held in, if she’s even on this part of the island. His best bet is to look inside as many buildings as he can, and hope he finds her, before someone finds him. He does his best to go as fast as he can.

She’s not inside the first three buildings, and the fourth isn’t even a building at all. It has walls, and a set of stairs, leading up to a pedestal. Standing at the top is an echidna, young-looking and plainly dressed, compared to those Sonic remembers.

He doesn’t wear a mask or cloak, but he does have gloves and jewelry. The gloves themselves appear to be made more of strips of material, wrapping around his hands like mittens, and holding some kind of spikes against his knuckles. The strips wrap up his arm and tie at the elbows. Around his neck is a necklace with seven brightly coloured feathers, and a small green stone in the center. Like the others, his fur is red, with dreaded locks on his head like hair, although he does have a white crescent of fur at the center of his chest. He’s also armed, with a bow and arrows slung around his torso. This must be the guardian.

He does not see Sonic. 

The guardian seems to be distracted by a green glow coming from somewhere behind him. Once Sonic is sure he won’t be noticed, he leaves his spot behind a corner and heads further along the island.

Longclaw is in the next building from the guardian. There are two more echidnas, this time with masks and cloaks, standing at the entrance, but Sonic avoids them by going around. There’s a second entryway at the back, this one unguarded, which he gets through without trouble. The inside of the building is a long stone hallway, with wooden doors at equal intervals. He has no way to see inside of each room without opening the doors, but he also has no way of knowing if an echidna might be behind any, either. Before he can decide what to do, footsteps echo along the floor.

Sonic pulls open the first door he can reach, and thankfully, the room is empty. It’s small, and dark, with no light source and no furnishings, aside from a stone ledge which Sonic assumes is meant to be a bed. He stays by the door, leaving it open a crack and peering through, trying to see where the footsteps will go.

An echidna appears in his vision, holding a bucket of water. He opens a door a few feet further down the hallway from Sonic, where he catches a glimpse of feathers, and places the bucket inside. Without a word, the echidna closes the door. The footsteps start again, growing quieter and quieter as the echidna walks away.

Sonic leaves his hiding spot and opens the same door.

Longclaw looks almost the same as he remembers, tall and strong, though she’s missing her chestplate, and she’s holding her right wing quite close, as if in pain. As soon as she sees Sonic, she steps forward, bringing her uninjured wing up to touch his face.

“Sonic?” She asks, as if she doesn’t think it’s really him. He nods, and moves closer himself, hugging her tightly. He’s careful not to aggravate her injured wing. “How?”

“Tails found me,” Sonic tells her, pulling slowly away from the hug. “We’re here to rescue you. Come on!”

It would take too long for the both of them to walk back across the island, so Sonic uses one of the rings, opening the portal inside Longclaw’s cell. She steps through first, and Sonic closes the door of the cell before following her. Tails is already waiting for them, holding two small bags. He rushes forward to hug Longclaw just like Sonic did.

“I found him,” Tails says, burying his face into Longclaw’s feathers. Longclaw wraps her good wing around Tails’ back, giving him a gentle squeeze.

“You did, Miles. Thank you. I’m so proud of you.” She turns to Sonic. “I’m proud of you too. Thank you, for coming back.”

Sonic says, “I’m not done yet,” and reaches into his bag for another ring. When he looks back up, Tails and Longclaw are staring at something behind him. Sonic doesn’t get a chance to turn around, before something grabs both his arms.

“Oh, but I’m afraid you are.”

Looking up, at first all Sonic sees is a bushy mustache, but then he sees past it to the face of Doctor Robotnik. He starts to struggle, but Eggman’s grip is tight. “Miss me, you little blue menace?” He asks, sneering. Sonic continues to struggle.

“Let him go!” Tails calls, and rushes forward, flying. He manages to make an impact against Eggman, though not a very powerful one. It’s still enough that Sonic can slip out of his grip, grabbing Tails’ hand and zipping them both closer to Longclaw. Sonic hands Tails the bag of rings, and the one he’d been about to throw.

“Get her to Green Hills,” he says, looking over his shoulder at Eggman, who looks angry. “I’ll distract him.”

Longclaw calls for him to wait, but Sonic is determined to give them a chance to get away. The ball-move is still useful, knocking Eggman off his feet, and onto his back. He lands harshly on top of the pack he’s carrying, and a large purple stone comes tumbling from the pack.

Before Sonic can think further on it, Tails is crying out. “Sonic! Hurry, it’s going to close!”

Sonic zips forward, pausing only to grab Tails by the wrist. “C’mon,” he says, rushing to the portal. It’s only a few feet away, he doesn’t need to use his powers. He can see Longclaw looking back into the portal, though she doesn’t call out, and behind her, Maddie, waving frantically and gesturing. Sonic jumps through, and his arm is wrenched harshly.

Tails shrieks like he’s hurt. Sonic whips around.

As the portal begins to close, in what feels like slow motion, Tails throws the pouch of rings. Robotnik is holding him up by both tails, grip painfully tight. Tails shrieks again.

“Tails!”

The portal closes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY


	10. Here's Your Answer In Spades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Let him go,” says the owl, eyes glaring in particular at Maddie, still holding Sonic close. Maddie nods, nervous, and shares a look with Tom as she tries to lower Sonic back to the ground. He grabs tightly onto the sleeve of her shirt._
> 
> _“No, no, please,” Sonic says, trying to hug Maddie tighter. Longclaw pauses as she watches him, the fight slowly leaving her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has nothing to do with the chapter but i wanna know, how do y'all feel about Tikal?

Sonic barely has time to think before the world starts moving again.

Maddie reaches him first, letting out a worried, “ _ Sonic _ ,” and scooping him up easily. Sonic buries his face into her shoulder, still not quite sure what’s going on. More footsteps approach, heavy and rough, before he feels another hand on his back. Tom.

Longclaw seems to recover the quickest of all of them. “Get away from him,” she cries, rushing towards the three of them. Tom steps in front of Maddie and Sonic, ready to protect them if he has to, though he puts his hands up as a show of surrender.

“Hey, it’s alright, we’re-” Tom begins, but Longclaw doesn’t seem keen to listen. She puffs herself up, making herself look bigger, and extends one wing. Her eyes are narrow and angry. She’s nearly Maddie’s size, maybe about a foot shorter, and  _ very _ threatening.

“Let him go,” says the owl, eyes glaring in particular at Maddie, still holding Sonic close. Maddie nods, nervous, and shares a look with Tom as she tries to lower Sonic back to the ground. He grabs tightly onto the sleeve of her shirt.

“No, no, please,” Sonic says, trying to hug Maddie tighter. Longclaw pauses as she watches him, the fight slowly leaving her. Tom still stays between the owl and his wife, not letting his guard down, even as Sonic makes a pitiful noise.

“Mom,” he cries, “he took him, mom. He took Tails.” He presses himself closer to Maddie, hooking his chin around the back of her neck, seemingly uncaring of the way her hair forms a curtain around his face. Maddie rubs at his back lightly, trying to provide a comforting touch.

“Who, Sonic? Who are you talking about?” Tom asks, finally looking over. Sonic is trembling.

He lets out that pitiful noise again, not quite a whine and most definitely not a sob. “Robotnik,” he says, struggling around the word. “It was Robotnik.”

* * *

It takes a lot to convince Sonic that it’s  _ not his fault _ .

Tom and Maddie take turns comforting him, trying to help him work through it, but he insists that he’s the one to blame for all this.

“He knew something was going to happen,” Sonic tells Tom. “And I did too. I told him about Robotnik, and I said he wasn’t dangerous anymore. He was after me, and Tails was just trying to help. It’s my fault he got taken, it’s all my fault.”

“That doesn’t make it your fault,” Tom insists, sitting next to Sonic on his beanbag chair. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s Robotnik.”

“But Robotnik was after  _ me _ !” Sonic shouts, moving further away from Tom on the beanbag chair. “If it wasn’t for me, Tails would be here!”

Maddie, who’s been sitting on Sonic’s bed, reaches over to place a hand on his shoulder, which he shrugs off immediately. “Sonic, you didn’t do anything wrong, and you didn’t cause anything to happen. Robotnik is the one doing terrible things. You were just trying to help your friends.”

Sonic is quiet for a few minutes after that, until he asks Tom and Maddie to leave the room so he can sleep. Tom and Maddie are hesitant to leave him alone, but comply, each giving Sonic a passing touch before they go. Maddie puts her hand on his forehead, just for a moment, before giving it a light stroke and taking her hand back, while Tom gives his hand a quick squeeze before getting up.

“None of this is your fault, kid. I promise,” Tom says, before he goes down the stairs back into the main house.

Despite the reassurances, though, Sonic can’t get it out of his head that he’s the one who put Tails in this situation. It leaves him unable to sleep, even though he’s upset and exhausted, until he can’t bear to stay in his room any longer. His bed doesn’t feel right; he can’t get comfortable, and he feels simultaneously too warm and too cold. The beanbag chair isn’t any better as he squirms on it, constantly looking back over to the bed like Tails will be there the next time he looks. Carefully, trying to keep quiet, he opens the hatch down to the second floor, closing it slowly behind him and wandering down the stairs. Just like it had been a few nights ago, Sonic can see light from the crack in the door of the spare bedroom, this time occupied by Longclaw. Sonic doesn’t pause as he passes by, just turns his head to look forward again.

He makes it to the tree house undiscovered, and quickly climbs up. He was only gone for about an hour, when all was said and done, but in that time, Tom managed to put up a railing around the little deck of the tree house. He sits down in front of it, with his feet dangling between a couple of the railings. Sonic focuses his gaze on the spot where the portal had closed behind him, trying to will it open with his mind.

_ Give him back _ , he wants to scream, out into the night like Eggman will hear him from another world entirely.  _ He’s not yours. Give me back Tails _ .

Sonic startles a bit when he hears a rustling behind him, and turns to find Longclaw. Her injured wing turned out to be very minor, just some feathers which had been torn out, and then formed into a cyst at her carpal joint and caused her pain. Maddie was able to fix it quickly, though it did require a trip to the vet practice in town. Longclaw had been hesitant about it, but agreed to go of her own accord when Maddie explained what she wanted to do. She seems to trust Maddie a bit more now, though Longclaw still seems hesitant of Tom.

“You should be asleep, Sonic,” Longclaw says. It’s the same voice she used all those years ago, before she had to send him away. _Someone could have seen you._ _Never stop running. You should be asleep._ There’s something maternal about it, although Sonic hasn’t really thought of Longclaw as his mother in many years.

Unable to really think of anything else, Sonic simply says, “I couldn’t sleep,” and leaves it at that.

Longclaw, unlike Sonic, does not seem inclined to sit down. She stays behind him, like she’s standing watch, waiting for something. When Sonic eventually looks up at her, she’s looking right back at him.

“You should try to sleep,” she says. “We have a long day tomorrow.”

Sonic gives her a confused look. “What’s happening tomorrow?”

“We’re leaving,” Longclaw says. She doesn’t say it nonchalantly, of course, there’s a tinge of worry in her voice, but she sounds calm, too. Ten years ago, when he was only five years old, she sent him off to a strange new world, all on his own. Now here he is, fifteen and able to take care of himself (although Tom and Maddie are pretty insistent on helping him do that now) and she’s about to do the same thing, only this time it’s Tails she’s leaving behind. Sonic isn’t going to budge.

“No,” he says firmly, and she stills, like she wasn’t expecting him to resist. “I don’t have any rings,” Sonic says, “and even if I did, I wouldn’t use them to run away. This is my home. I’m not leaving.”

Longclaw says, “you don’t have your rings?” If she didn’t have her feathers, she'd be pale, Sonic is sure. She’s probably still paling beneath the feathers as it is.

“No, I don’t,” Sonic confirms. “Tails had them, and now he’s been taken. And unlike you, I’m not going to abandon him or run away.”

“Sonic!” Longclaw says shortly, then sighs. “I’m not abandoning Miles. I’m making sure you’re safe before I throw myself into danger to bring him home, and you’re not safe here, if what your human friends have told me is true.”

So they told her about Robotnik, or she asked. Sonic shakes his head. “I’m just as safe now as I ever was here on Earth. I’ve fought him before and won, this time won’t be any different. I know Maddie and Tom will help me, even if you won’t.”

“Sonic,” Longclaw starts, but he shakes his head.

“I’m safe here,” he says again. “And I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time, too. So was Tails, he seemed so excited to get to stay. I have a life here, Longclaw. I’m not going to run away from it all. I’m going to wait, and hope Tails isn’t hurt, and when Eggman comes out, I’m gonna get Tails back. Once this is over with, I’ll give you one of the rings, and you can go to any safe planet you want. Tails and I are going to stay right here.”

Sonic gets up, climbing back down to the ground below, leaving Longclaw up in the tree house alone.

“I’ll be back,” he says, “I just need time. Don’t wait up.”

He doesn’t look back as he runs off into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i mentioned it before, but i've been writing several chapters ahead before posting (so i was partly through writing chapter 4 when i posted chapter 1, and so on). i've finished the last chapter of this story, so over the next like, four days maybe? i'm gonna post the last couple of chapters.
> 
> also, and this is an important question which is why i'm asking it twice: how do y'all feel about Tikal?


	11. It's All That I Have To Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The ringing of the house phone wakes Tom up, and for a moment, all he can think is,_ why didn’t we get rid of the damn thing?
> 
> _By the time he’s awake enough to realize that no one would have any reason to call this late at night, the house phone has stopped ringing, and Tom’s cell is lit up on the nightstand where he’s left it plugged in. The caller ID shows that it’s Wade, once again._
> 
> _“Yeah?” Tom says, not quite ready for big words yet._
> 
> _“Hiya, Tom,” says Wade over the phone, “remember that robot doctor?”_

The ringing of the house phone wakes Tom up, and for a moment, all he can think is,  _ why didn’t we get rid of the damn thing? _

By the time he’s awake enough to realize that no one would have any reason to call this late at night, the house phone has stopped ringing, and Tom’s cell is lit up on the nightstand where he’s left it plugged in. The caller ID shows that it’s Wade, once again.

“Yeah?” Tom says, not quite ready for big words yet.

“Hiya, Tom,” says Wade over the phone, “remember that robot doctor?”

Tom feels quite more awake, all of a sudden. “Of course I do, Wade. What about him? Is he here?”

Wade makes a nervous noise. “Yeah, yeah he is. I can see him right outside my window. He’s bald with a bigger mustache.”

If Wade can see Robotnik from his window, he must be in the centre of town already. Wade rents a unit above the fabric store a few streets over from the police station, but he can only see his street from the window, and no further.

Tom gets up, digging through the junk drawer in his dresser for the envelope he and Maddie had been given a few months ago. “What’s he doing right now?” Tom asks, fumbling. It might help to turn on a light but he’s too busy looking. Eventually, his fingers find an envelope, and he grabs it from the drawer. He can feel the outline of the gift card inside. It’s definitely the right one.

Wade says, “he looks angry. I think he’s shouting but I can’t tell what he’s saying. Is the government after you again?”

Tom says, “thanks for letting me know, Wade. Stay at home, and keep calm. Sonic and I will take care of this.” He hangs up the phone before Wade has a chance to protest, and moves over to the bed to wake Maddie.

“Tom? What’s going on?” Maddie asks sleepily, rubbing her eyes and then stretching. She grimaces when Tom turns the lamp on, but then becomes alert all at once when she sees the envelope he’s holding.

“What’s going on?” Maddie asks again, and Tom hands her both the envelope and his phone.

“Robotnik’s back. Call the Commander, his number’s in that card he gave us. Tell him Robotnik’s back. Do  _ not _ let him say he doesn’t exist. I’m going to get Sonic, we’ll keep him busy until backup shows up.” He presses a quick kiss to her cheek before rushing back to the dresser for some jeans and a shirt. “Love you, stay safe!”

Maddie blinks after him, takes a deep breath, and opens the envelope.

* * *

Sonic isn’t in his room, but Tom doesn’t let himself panic yet. He’s got a habit of going out for runs in the middle of the night sometimes, on the rare occasion where he’s restless and can’t sleep. Tom and Maddie have gotten him into the habit of leaving notes for them if he leaves, but they’re still usually afterthoughts, left in the kitchen or by the front door. As the tree house gets closer to completion, he’s also taken the habit of sitting up there and watching the stars, even as Tom has warned him several times that it’s not quite safe yet.

There’s no note in the house from Sonic, but there  _ is _ a figure in the tree house, standing by the railing. Unfortunately for Tom, the figure is Longclaw, and not Sonic as he’d hoped. She tenses as he approaches, still untrusting of him.

“Where’s the kid?” Tom asks, an edge of worry creeping into his voice. Longclaw points one wing into the forest at the edge of the property.

“He ran off a few minutes ago. He asked to be alone.” Longclaw says. Tom shakes his head.

“Robotnik’s back,” he says, and starts his trek towards the forest. Sonic will probably have gone back to his cave, if Tom knows him at all. His return trips there are what inspired the tree house to begin with. Longclaw seems like she wants to protest, but she doesn’t, just stands and watches as Tom walks away.

“Keep him safe,” Longclaw says, after a moment. Tom looks back, and nods once, steady and sure.

“That’s the plan.”

* * *

Just as Tom guessed, Sonic is back in his cave.

He’s sitting on the ground, just under the opening of the cave that he uses to enter it. He’s not really doing anything in particular, so he notices the scrunching noises of debris on the ground as Tom kneels close to the hole above his head.

“Hey kid,” Tom says. “You alright?” Sonic nods.

“I’m alright, Donut Lord. Just couldn’t sleep.”

Tom nods once himself. “You gonna stay down there, or do you wanna come out?”

“Help me up?” Sonic asks, and Tom does, reaching his arm down into the cave. Sonic jumps up, grabbing tightly onto Tom’s hand so he can be lifted up to ground level.

Once he’s sitting in the moonlight with Tom, Sonic can see the tense way he’s holding himself, and the concerned expression on his face. Sonic has a feeling he knows what it means.

“He’s back, isn’t he?” Sonic asks, and Tom nods.

“Wade called me. He’s in town, looks like he’s alone.”

_ Then where’s Tails? _ Sonic thinks, but he steels himself, and nods once. “Let’s go, then.”

* * *

Finding Robotnik is easy, because he hasn’t left the spot Wade said he was in.

“There you are,” Robotnik snarks, once he catches sight of them approaching. “And Mr. Wachowski too, how nice. Prepared to lose everything?”

“Not a chance, Eggman!” Sonic calls, and he dashes forward. Robotnik doesn’t hesitate to follow, to Sonic’s relief, and just like that, they’re off.

“You infernal creature! Don’t make this harder on yourself!” Robotnik shouts. He stops his running, reaching into his pocket, and pulls out a ring. Sonic zips back over before Robotnik can throw it, taking it swiftly from his grip and running it back over to Tom. Robotnik roars in anger, and rushes over to them. They both start running, and the chase begins again.

They get him as far as the grocery store two streets up before he stops, though Sonic stays far enough away that he won’t be caught. “Eggman!” Sonic calls, and he’s got a feeling this is a bad idea, but he feels he’s probably safe for now, given that Robotnik is still trying to catch his breath, hands on his knees as he pants. “What did you do with Tails?”

He shakes his head, waving one hand quite weakly, like he can’t quite muster the energy for a full gesture quite yet. “The fox?” He pants, shaking his head. “Agent Stone is taking  _ very good _ care of him.” Before Sonic has a chance to question him further, the moment passes, and Robotnik is ready to try to catch him again.

Sonic just hopes he’s willing to keep running as long as they need him to.

* * *

For as little as Tails has seen of Earth while staying with the Wachowskis, he’d never have imagined such amazing technology would exist on the planet. He found the TV interesting, of course, and he was dying to open up that video game Sonic had shown him and see how it worked, but it was nothing compared to holographic displays that could be interacted with by touch, and lights which could be brightened and dimmed with just a gesture.

Eggman had been quick to figure out how the rings work, but Tails knows very well that it’s very easy to use a ring portal once you’ve been shown how. The first ring he’d used brought them back to Earth, along with the chaos emerald he’d nearly lost when Sonic knocked him down on Angel Island. It was a quick stop, with Eggman knocking on a door and greeting Agent Stone, before taking himself, Tails, and Stone to another location with a second ring portal; his mobile lab, sat in a big warehouse. Large, black, unmoving, and untouched, the door had opened easily for Eggman and Agent Stone. With few instructions and a crazed expression, Tails and the emerald had been left with Stone as Eggman muttered something about a hedgehog. It wasn’t hard to figure out that he meant Sonic.

Agent Stone is nice enough, Tails finds. He offers him something to eat, and to drink, and lets him look at all the cool technology inside Eggman’s lab. He actually leaves Tails alone for a few minutes and comes back with a coffee for himself, a juice box and peanut butter sandwich for Tails, and a clipboard with some papers on it. He lets Tails sit on one of the countertops in the lab, right in front of the big computer, though facing away from it, as he goes through the information on the clip board in front of him.

“What’s your date of birth?” Agent Stone asks, while Tails has a mouthful of his sandwich. It takes him a moment to swallow it, as the peanut butter sticks in his mouth, but he manages after a second.

“October sixteenth,” says Tails, and he takes another bite.

“And what year would that be?”

Tails says, “I’m twelve,” because once again the peanut butter is proving to be a bit of a nuisance when it comes to having a conversation. Stone nods anyway, doing the math quickly in his head.

“So 2007, then. Is there any family history of genetic mutation?”

* * *

The light’s early dawn is just starting to shine when Sonic is able to lead Robotnik onto the edges of Crazy Carl’s property.

Robotnik is either incredibly determined, or just incredibly angry, because aside from a few breaks to catch his breath, he’s steadily chased Sonic down for the past two hours. Tom himself had given up before they even made it to the highway, though Sonic had informed him of his plans and where he was going to lead Robotnik. Surprisingly, Tom’s new truck is there at Crazy Carl’s, which Sonic can see as he leads Robotnik further and further onto the property.

There are no more traps on Carl’s property, there hasn’t been since Sonic fought Robotnik the first time. On any other occasion, it would be a relief, but with Robotnik following Sonic like a bloodhound, he really wishes there was at least a rope trap left over somewhere. Since Tom has beaten them here after taking the long way with his truck, he’s at least able to help Sonic distract Robotnik while they figure out how to deal with him. When he gets a second to look over, Sonic can see Carl’s truck parked beside Tom’s, but Carl himself is nowhere to be seen.

Between Sonic and Tom, they manage to lead Robotnik around the property in circles for a while. Once they manage to tire him out again, Tom pulls Sonic a fair distance away, kneeling down beside him.

“Carl called Maddie when he saw you. I had her call the Commander, try to get someone from the government here to help. Hopefully someone will show up. How are you holding up?”

Sonic gives Tom a thumbs up. “I can keep going,” he says. Sonic is starting to get a bit tired, he’s been leading Robotnik around for nearly two straight hours now, but he _can_ and _will_ keep running if it buys them time.

Robotnik lets out a loud yell, and Sonic and Tom both turn. Approaching from the sky is Longclaw, nearly diving down, she’s coming in so fast. She goes straight for Robotnik, pressing her claws into his shoulders and  _ shoving _ . He goes down hard, and straight onto his chest, with a painful sound of the air being knocked out of his lungs.

She lands neatly in front of Sonic and Tom, nodding at them both in turn, before looking back to Robotnik. He’s trying to stand, but he’s still got his big pack on, which seems to be weighing him down a bit. He doesn’t make a move to take it off. “Armed forces are on their way,” Longclaw says. “Maddie asked me to tell you. It shouldn’t be too long now.”

That still leaves them to have to deal with Robotnik until then. Tom stands in front of Sonic, ready to defend him if necessary, but Sonic also stands ready to jump between Tom and Robotnik. Longclaw herself stays next to the hedgehog, also tense and ready to intervene.

“Move away, Mr. Wachowski,” Robotnik says harshly. Tom shakes his head.

“Not gonna happen.”

Robotnik says, “then you leave me no choice,” and lunges forward. He gets one good punch in on Tom, striking him on the cheekbone, but Tom doesn’t go down. He swings back, and misses, but Sonic has jumped in by now too. Just like on Angel Island, he lands a hit against Robotnik, who again falls. This time, the bag of rings comes tumbling out of Robotnik’s pocket, landing a few feet away, and Longclaw is quick to grab it.

She opens the bag when she’s got it firmly in her grasp, quickly counting the rings inside. “Nineteen!” Longclaw calls, and Sonic nods quickly. He’d had twenty eight left, before the rescue mission with Tails, and all told, it took them five rings to rescue Longclaw. Not accounting for the one Sonic gave Tom back in town, that would mean Robotnik only used three himself.

Before Sonic can think much longer about the rings, Robotnik lunges at him, and he jumps out of the way again. “Missed me!” Sonic calls, and Robotnik rears after him again, this time being stopped by Tom. He finally lands a punch, just in the same spot Robotnik hit him. He focuses his energy on Tom.

Sonic and Longclaw each get another few hits in, but ultimately, it’s Tom who strikes the final blow, a straight jab at Robotnik’s nose that leaves him bleeding and unconscious. He lands heavily onto his back and doesn’t stir. 

“Alright,” says Sonic, falling backwards into a sitting position. “What do we do with him now?”

Tom says, “I think I’ve got a set of handcuffs in my truck,” but then from the road comes the noise of vehicles driving up. Sonic and Longclaw are both quick to find hiding places, out of sight but still able to see and hear Tom. Three black SUVs pull up to Crazy Carl’s property, and six people emerge. Five agents in black suits, and one Commander leading the march.

“Mr. Wachowski,” says the Commander. “I see there’s been a scuffle.” He looks down at Robotnik’s unconscious form, with a bit of a nonplussed expression, before turning back to Tom.

“I did what I had to,” Tom answers, and the Commander just nods.

“I see. Well, in any case, thank you for notifying us of the situation. Am I correct in assuming the little blue guy was involved at all?”

Tom shakes his head. “Still haven’t seen him again since last time, sir. Sorry.”

The General shrugs. “In any case, we’ll take it from here. Feel free to go home, Mr. Wachowski, and you and your wife might expect something in the mail soon, as well.”

Tom does not argue, or waste time in leaving. He gets back into his truck and pulls away, stopping only a few yards outside the property to pick up Sonic and Longclaw. They’re well hidden by the trees surrounding Carl’s property, but both are still quick to climb into the truck and get going.

The next course of action is to find where Robotnik put Tails.


	12. My Way Home is Through You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The portal opens inside a long room, mostly empty with silver-blue walls. A man in a suit stands off to one side, listening intently as Tails talks. He’s the same height as Tom, with neatly cut hair and a well-groomed beard. He and Tails notice Sonic and Tom at the same time._
> 
> _“Sonic!” Tails calls, and he jumps off the counter he’s been sitting on. Sonic rushes forward to meet him, catching him in a tight hug. Tails holds on just as tight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am not entirely sure where we all seem to have gotten the name anders for agent stone but i for one am rolling with it

The easiest way to find Tails is, of course, by ring portal.

It turns out that someone named Anders Stone called the house not long after Tom left, while Maddie was trying to get hold of the Commander. He’d given her his location, and told her that he was watching Tails; Maddie even got to speak with him for a few minutes, before she had to try again to contact the Commander. With exact coordinates to their location, it doesn’t take long at all to get there.

The portal opens inside a long room, mostly empty with silver-blue walls. A man in a suit stands off to one side, listening intently as Tails talks. He’s the same height as Tom, with neatly cut hair and a well-groomed beard. He and Tails notice Sonic and Tom at the same time.

“Sonic!” Tails calls, and he jumps off the counter he’s been sitting on. Sonic rushes forward to meet him, catching him in a tight hug. Tails holds on just as tight.

“Sheriff Wachowski,” says Agent Stone, nodding at Tom. “I can assure you no harm has come to Mr. Prower. You’re free to go.”

Tom gives him an incredulous look. “That’s it, then?” He asks.

“That’s it,” Agent Stone says. “I’m afraid I’m not quite sure what you’re expecting of me, Sheriff Wachowski.”

Tom shakes his head. “We just spent the better part of three hours chasing down your boss, and you’re just going to let us go, just like that? No strings, no resistance, nothing?”

Agent Stone shakes his head. His face is carefully blank, and a fair bit intimidating. “With all due respect, Sheriff, Doctor Robotnik hasn’t been my boss in several months. He was not sanctioned for any course of action, and he will be incarcerated for quite some time following today’s incidents. The doctor came to me and I let him think I would help. I didn’t allow him to take any of his machines, and I told him I’d deal with the fox. He was very focused on the hedgehog, of course, which helped. I aided the Doctor in order to ensure no one got hurt. Have a nice day, Sheriff Wachowski.”

Tom, Sonic, and Tails all stand there as Agent Stone steps away, towards an open door just off to the side. Before he leaves, though, he opens a cabinet door, and pulls out the purple gem which Robotnik had had with him on Angel Island. “Mr. Prower,” says Stone, and he gently tosses the stone over. Tails catches it without issue. “I believe you know where this belongs.”

Stone is gone before they can say anything else to him. Sonic instead turns to Tails, looking him over quite obviously, as if assessing him for any injuries.

“Are you okay?” He asks, ignoring Tails’ nod in response, “Eggman didn’t hurt you, did he? Or Agent Stone?”

Tails shakes his head firmly, and says, “I’m fine. Eggman left me here to go after you, and Agent Stone just asked me some questions. No one touched me.” He promises.

Tom asks, “what kind of questions did he ask you, kid?” Tails shrugs.

“Identification questions and stuff, like my full name and my birthday. I think he left the paper on the counter, hang on.” Tails hops up onto the lone chair in the room, and grabs onto a clipboard. He hands it over to Tom. Indeed, the page attached includes personal information, though some sections are blank, like height and weight. Other sections have stars next to them, like they were ignored or the answer was unsure. At the bottom is Agent Stone’s signature. There’s a second page underneath as well, the same as the first, which is blank except for the signature.

“These are applications for naturalization,” Tom realizes, scanning them quickly again. Neither Sonic or Tails are sure what that is. “And they’re already approved, by the looks of it.”

“What does naturalization mean?” Sonic asks, and Tom finally looks up at him. He’s got a bit of a smile on his face, though it’s slightly unsure.

“It’s someone who was born somewhere else, but who legally becomes a citizen of the United States.” He turns the clipboard over so both Sonic and Tails can see the first form. “Looks like there's one for each of you.”

* * *

As soon as they get back, Longclaw herds Tails and Sonic away, pushing them towards the house. “Get your things together,” she says, “we’re leaving.”

This causes an almost immediate ruckus, with Sonic, Tails, Maddie, and Tom all speaking at once, confused and shocked. Longclaw raises one wing, and after a moment, they all stop talking. She shakes her head.

“We’re going somewhere safe,” Longclaw says, “I’m not letting anything happen to _either_ of you again. Hurry.”

Tails looks discouraged, and begins to head toward the house, but Sonic stops him with a hand on his arm. He stands in front of Tails as he faces Longclaw.

“We’re not going,” he says firmly, and there’s no room in his voice for argument. “Tails and I are both staying here.”

Longclaw argues back, “ _no_ , you’re not. It’s not safe here, and you’ve been discovered. We’re going.”

“With all due respect,” Tom chimes in, “Sonic  _ is _ safe here. Maddie and I are looking out for him, and he’s got the whole town ready to protect him if necessary. I’m sure the same goes for Tails if he stays.”

Longclaw shakes her head. “I’m sure you have his best interest in mind, Tom, but you told me yourself about your previous experience with Dr. Robotnik, and I’ve seen him go after Sonic myself twice now. It would be much better for everyone if we went elsewhere.”

Sonic says, “I’ve fought Eggman before, I can take him!” Longclaw is not budging.

“You’ve fought him twice, and needed help both times. First from Tom, and now from both Tom and myself, Sonic. You’re not safe from him. Please, stop fighting. I’m only trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” Sonic insists. “You can’t make me leave. I’m staying  _ here _ .”

Longclaw sighs, and the fight leaves her. She seems to be realizing that now is the time to leave well enough alone. She turns her attention to Tails instead. “Miles?” She asks, and he shakes his head slightly.

“I want to stay, too,” he admits. “Can’t we all just stay?”

Longclaw sighs, shrinking a bit. “I...” But she seems unable to find any words.

Sonic reaches one hand out, holding a ring towards her. He looks upset, but resolute, like he’s trying to stay strong. “You can stay if you want,” he begins, “but if you don’t, my offer still stands. You can go to any world you want. Tails and I are staying here.”

Longclaw takes a good look at both of them, with their solemn expressions and hope in their eyes. She’s known them both from infancy and she’s raised them both in turn. By now it almost feels like they’ve always been a part of her life; for the both of them, she’s certainly always been a part of theirs. There is nothing in Longclaw that even remotely wants to leave these two, to part ways and just forget them, even if she does have a desire deep down to explore on her own sometimes. If Sonic and Tails are staying, why can’t she?

She turns towards Tom and Maddie, who have since stepped up behind Sonic and Tails. “If I stayed with them, would that be okay?” Longclaw asks. Tom and Maddie both look down at Sonic and Tails, who begin to grow excited, and then share a look between themselves. Maddie nods, and Tom nods back.

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Maddie says. Longclaw nods, and opens her wings, looking at Sonic and Tails. 

They both rush forward into her grasp. It’s the sweetest hug Longclaw has ever been part of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i imagine agent stone is a good person, but also he works for the government and we've been shown in the movie he's clearly able to stand on his own (seriously, i don't know anyone who would tell an army major that they're basic, first or second hand, and my family has an abundance of vets in their 60s-80s). another thing about stone is i like to think that he has limits, even if robotnik doesn't.
> 
> little surprise coming


	13. All Through the Night

“Knuckles!”

The sound of Tikal’s voice is not unwelcome, for as often as Knuckles hears it. She’s good company, partly because she always knows when Knuckles needs someone to talk to, and when he needs to just sit quietly by her side, but mostly because of how close they are.

By birthright, she should be the one guarding the Master Emerald, but the Emerald chose Knuckles instead. He’s not too distraught about it, of course, because he likes the solitude that the role offers him. He also knows that Tikal will make a fine chieftess someday, following in the gentle teachings of their grandmother, and not the dangerous ways of their father. Tikal isn’t too upset about the way things worked out either, because she really does do best with others to interact with.

“Knuckles!” Tikal calls again, and now he can see her as she runs up the stairs of the altar. One of her chao is clinging to her shoulder as she hurries, and there’s something purple clutched in her hands. Knuckles’ stomach drops.

“That isn’t-” Knuckles starts, and Tikal nods, holding the object out for him to take. He can feel the chaos energy radiating off of it, even as far apart as he stands from his sister. The purple chaos emerald.

“I found it in the gardens,” Tikal says breathlessly, still holding the emerald out for Knuckles to take. Hesitantly, he does, though he knows from experience that the emeralds are harmless to touch. It feels energized, like the time it’s spent missing allowed it to recharge, unlike the other emeralds. Knuckles knows for a fact that it was stolen during the search of Mushroom Hill, so the question remains, how did Tikal find it in the gardens?

“I saw something blue in one of the bushes, and thought maybe one of the eggs had hatched. That’s where I found the emerald,” Tikal explains. “There was nothing else there. I don’t know how it got there.”

“And the blue thing you saw in the bushes?” Knuckles asks. Tikal shrugs helplessly.

“It was gone, like it vanished, but there wasn’t a portal or any other hiding place nearby.” Tikal studies the emerald as Knuckles turns it in his hands.

Neither of them wants to say it, but they both have a suspicion of how the emerald got into the chao gardens.

* * *

It’s all well and good to say that with the press of a button, an entire person’s identity can be erased, made to never exist, but that’s not quite the truth of it. Paper trails can lead back to places long since gone, and sometimes, for whatever reason, the wrong document is saved from destruction.

The United States government is also just the right amount of paranoid to keep minuscule scraps of information on those who have  _ never existed _ , in their eyes. It’s not enough to find anything relevant, or even useful. It’s just enough to show that such a person may have, at one time or another, existed.

In the year 1962, the United States government had two individuals with the name Robotnik in their interests. At the time, Gerald Robotnik had been working with the United States Government as their leading biology expert. In January of 1962, Gerald had been assigned to a lab called ARK, to work on a biomedical research project codenamed S.H.A.D.O.W. He’d brought his granddaughter, Maria, with him, as she was terminally ill and he’d been beyond convinced that the research from project S.H.A.D.O.W. would be able to save her life. By June of the following year, both Gerald and his granddaughter were deceased, casualties of an accident in the ARK facility. At this point in time, a third member of the Robotnik family was on the government’s record; seventeen month old Ivo, orphaned and without any other family.

All known records of project S.H.A.D.O.W. and the ARK facility were supposed to have been destroyed by the beginning of 1970, and by all accounts, successfully were. Unfortunately for the state of American bureaucracy, paper and ink documents have always had a tendency to get lost at the worst (or best) of times. Add time to the equation, and those losses become forgotten.

In perhaps not their brightest decision, the remains of the ARK facility were used as a foundation for a military storage facility in Nevada. Behind dozens of security doors and past multiple levels of security encryption requiring high clearance, there remains one last piece of the research conducted at ARK; one final piece of project S.H.A.D.O.W.

Stone’s time working with Dr. Robotnik was useful for all parties involved. The government got their source into the doctor’s mind, to know how his work was going at any given time, and to be able to control him, even minutely, in the direction they wanted or needed him to act. In return, Stone’s level of clearance and trust from his employers rose exponentially. During all his time at Robotnik’s side, Stone didn’t really think much of his rise in rank.

Then he discovered what really happened at ARK. Remnants of a long forgotten document, slated for destruction and lost to time, found by the one person who had the most reason to wonder what exactly had happened that day. What Stone doesn’t know is why Robotnik never did anything with the knowledge.

The hallways that lead to the storage chamber are dark, and rarely travelled. They’re kept clean mostly by the lack of foot traffic, and once a week by a single worker, the only other remnant of the time of ARK. Stone does not find any trouble getting through the many security doors or passcode locks in his way. Finally, he reaches his destination.

The computer has not been upgraded since it’s installation, due mostly to the severe simplicity of it’s operations. No reason to spend hundred on a device which only has two tasks; lock, and unlock. The passcode has never been updated either, a simple six-digits to get the answers the government has hidden for nearly five decades.  _ t3r10s _ .

The defrost sequence begins.


End file.
